Depending on who you talk to, the real-estate market in Maryland may be up, going up or coming down.
For sure, the asking price on properties are coming down, and in some markets the selling price of property is beginning to show strains.
“We had such big increases in the past four years,” said John McClain, a senior fellow with the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. “The average prices in Baltimore are a little bit higher than this time last year and are a lot higher than this time a few years ago.”
Data collected by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in Washington, which charts the percentage of change in housing prices throughout the country, showed appreciation of house values in Maryland during second quarter of calendar year 2006 was 16.21 percent, down from the first quarter level of 20.84 percent. In the second quarter of 2005, the increase was 23.76 percent, OFHEO reported. But the perceived value of property and the actual selling price are two different things, real-estate experts said.
Realtor David Martz of Long & Foster said home sellers haven?t grasped the fact double-digit appreciation on home values may be history.
“The rate of appreciation is what?s coming down,” he said. “If a house comes on the market, the seller thinks they can still get 13 percent appreciation, but they can?t.”
Both Martz and McClain agree that double-digit growth in housing prices can?t hold up. During the past 30 years, home values on average have increased 7 percent each year, McClain said.
