It?s a buyers? market, but that doesn?t mean property won?t sell.
Emerging from what many experts viewed as a stagnant 2006 real estate market, the spring looks to be a new time for growth in both sales and properties. For January, a historically slow month in real estate, the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. reported an increase of more than 4 percent in the average price a property sold for in the Baltimore area.
“It?s a great time to buy,” said Thomas Hough, president of Anne Arundel County Association of Realtors. “Interest rates are low and you?ve got a wide range of inventory ? and a much higher quality. Sellers are more flexible now than in the past, and they shouldn?t be hesitant to sell in a buyers? market. The truth of the matter is that sellers will reap benefits on the other side of the deal as well. But home prices have to be realistic, ready to show and show well.”
With mortgage rates hovering right between 6.5 percent and 6.9 percent buyers now have a favorable weapon to wield when going looking over the market. In Baltimore City, Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Harford, Howard and Carroll counties, the average price sold for a property is right around $304,000.
The advantage for the buyer, however, is that property is on the market for an average of nearly 91 days before it is sold, an increase in time of more than 68 percent from 2006. This extended timetable gives buyers a chance to shop around, and put time on their side.
“Buyers are waiting, ready, willing and able to buy the right house if it comes on market,” said Marc Witman, a partner with Yerman, Witman, Gaines and Garceau Realty. “The mortgage market has improved, and the rates help to create a perfect storm for spring market first-time home buyers.”
