Baltimore metro-area home values took their biggest hit since the residential real estate downturn began last summer, falling nearly 7 percent last month according to data released Thursday.
The median sale price, the price at which half of all homes sold for more and half for less, fell for an eighth straight month to $270,000, down 6.9 percent from $290,000 a year ago, according to data gathered by Realtor-owned Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc.
It was the largest drop for median sale prices in the combined Baltimore metro area since values began their slide in November. The previous largest drop was 5.66 percent in January.
“That is significant,” said Steve Meszaros, Realtor with Long and Foster Glen Burnie and secretary of the Maryland Association of Realtors. “I think there?s even worse news than that, because ? the sellers are giving buyers concessions toward closing. So the actual money the seller is receiving is less than that [MRIS] number shows.”
Meszaros said seller contributions in some cases can run as high as 5 to 7 percent.
A total of 2,329 units were sold across the metro area last month, down more than 30 percent from June 2007. However, last month brought the highest unit sales numbers this year. June has been a hot month this decade, accounting for the most unit sales in each year dating back to 2002, said Ross Mackesey, sales manager at Coldwell Banker Federal Hill.
Baltimore City was the only area in which home values increased last month, jumping 8.33 percent. But the city also saw the largest slowdown in sales as total units sold fell more than 39 percent to 526 from 868 in June 2007.
One explanation might be a surge in rentals, Mackesey said. While units sold dropped 40 percent, he said rentals last month handled by Realtors and reported to MRIS were up 66 percent.
“If some of the Gen Yers and Gen Xers that were in the buying market previously say, ?I?m going to rent for a while,? what that does is take numbers out of the lower end [of the market],” he said.
Bill Cassidy, sales manager at Long and Foster Fells Point, said the shift toward rentals has helped make up some of the lost home sales.
“That?s the biggest trend I?m seeing downtown,” he said. “We have sellers saying I can afford to ride out this market, let?s list this house for rent instead.”
