An economist and mortgage banker are predicting a continued creep up in housing prices, despite another tough month in the real estate industry.
Data from Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. show the average home sales price in the Baltimore region ? Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties, Baltimore City, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties ? posted an overall gain of 3.15 percent in October from October 2005, though the number of houses sold in the region fell 22.29 percent.
“Only Carroll and Howard counties showed a downturn,” said John McClain, an economist at George Mason University. That downward movement, he said, is “most likely due to the fact that those areas feature higher-priced homes.”
“High-priced homes are taking longer to sell, as buyers proceed cautiously in light of the softening market nationwide,” McClain said.
In the region, the number of days a house stayed on the market climbed to 70, a 79.49 percent jump from the same month in 2005, according to MRIS data. In Anne Arundel County, it?s 81 days, up 97.56 percent.
In Baltimore City, it?s 69 days, a 56.82 percent jump over last year; 61 days in Baltimore County, up 74.29 percent; 72 days in Carroll County, up 67.44 percent; 74 days in Harford County, up 85 percent; and 69 days in Howard County, up 122.58 percent.
In the popular Baltimore City neighborhood of Federal Hill, the numbers are staggering. The average sale price of a home fell 3.11 percent in October, to $246,261 from $254,163 the same month a year ago.
The total number of homes sold during the month ? 71 ? was down 26.04 percent from October 2005. And the average number of days on the market skyrocketed 238.24 percent to 115 days. A year ago, a home in the historic neighborhood sold in 34 days.
The average selling price in Carroll County in October was $352,995, down 4.76 percent from October 2005. In Howard, it was $416,736, down 2.11 percent for the same month a year ago.
Ron Alston, a senior mortgage banker with United Capital Mortgage in Columbia, said the pricing scheme is good news for some homebuyers.
“A lot of the problem with Carroll County is that it is so far out,” Alston said. “If you can buy a home in Columbia, there?s no need to go to Carroll County.”
Alston said he expects the housing sector to begin showing strength once the handover of power is complete in Washington, D.C.
“Consumer confidence will improve,” he said. “Prices will begin to go up and people will start looking in Carroll County again.”
