Keeping homes affordable enough for BRAC-related workers has become another test for a county riding a statewide wave of high-priced suburban real estate.
Most of the new houses being built in the county range in price from $200,000 to $1 million, said Havre de Grace Planner Al Henry.
The average price of homes in Harford ranges from $142,000 in Edgewood to $440,000 in Monkton, according to the Office of Economic Development.
County-wide, however, the average is closer to only $274,000, said Mark Wilson, a board member with the Harford County Association of Realtors.
“It?s kind of hard to build affordable workplace housing right now,” Henry said. “Material costs alone make it very difficult.”
Wilson disagreed. Compared to the area around Fort Monmouth, N.J., where many new jobs at Aberdeen Proving Ground are coming from, Harford County is very affordable, Wilson said.
“Around there, it was ocean front, water-view property … the average there was close to $1 million,” he said.
However, the readiness of the county?s housing market is hard to gauge, when it?s still unclear how many new people come to fill the new jobs.
“You can?t build a school you don?t need, with funds you don?t have, for people you don?t know are coming for sure,” Wilson said.
The county has been working with its local association of real estate agents to find affordable housing and locate where new homes can be built, said Acting Director of Economic Development Denise Carnaggio.
