The November numbers are in, and real estate in the Baltimore region appears to be weathering the financial storm that is gripping other housing markets in the nation.
The average price of a house sold in the greater Baltimore metropolitan area during November was $309,753, a 0.15 percent increase above the average selling price in November 2005, according to real estate trends tracked by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc.
“The Baltimore market has a lot of underlying strength to it,” said Jody Landers, executive vice president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors. “And it remains relatively affordable.”
But there are pockets of concern. While the average selling price of homes climbed in November in Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Howard County, the average price fell in Anne Arundel, Carroll and Harford counties. In Anne Arundel, prices fell 2.85 percent to $401,307 from last year?s $413,093. In Carroll County, the average selling price of a home fell 0.94 percent to $366,878 from $370,344 a year ago, and in Harford County, prices were down 1.6 percent to $289,233, from last year?s level of $293,928, according to MRIS data.
And across the board, the number of houses sold during the month also fell.
“I know things have slowed down in terms of volume, but the fact that we are not seeing big price declines is an indicator of the overall health of the economy,” Landers said.
Realtors in the region sold 2,733 homes during November, 12.91 percent fewerthan sold in November 2005, when Realtors sold 3,138 units. The total dollar volume is down, too, from $970.5 million in November 2005 to $846.5 million last month.
John McClain, an economist at George Mason University, said Maryland?s suburbs are doing better than those in northern Virginia.
“Prices in Northern Virginia generally rose higher than those in Maryland, requiring sharper decreases as the market adjusts,” McClain said.
Nationally, existing home sales for 2006 are expected to decline 8.6 percent to 6.47 million units, according to David Lereah, chief economist with the National Association of Realtors.
