The National Association of Realtors last week reported that the median price of a home for October, the latest month for which data is available, was $218,000, down 3.1 percent from the same period a year ago.
But things look different in Maryland.
In the Baltimore region in October, the median selling price of a home was $265,000, up 1.92 percent from October 2005, according to statistics compiled by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. for its real estate trend indicator.
In November, the median price of a home sold in the Baltimore metro area was $270,000, up 2.44 percent from the median price of a home sold during November 2005. The total number of units sold during the month was 1,475, a 23.69 percent decline from the number sold in November 2005 ? 1,933.
In the Washington region, however, the price-pinch was obvious in November, according to MRIS statistics.
In Virginia?s Fairfax County, Fairfax City, Arlington County, Alexandria City and Falls Church, the median price fell 5.15 percent in November, from $485,000 in 2005 to $460,000 this year. The total number of units sold during November fell 23.69 percent to 1,475 in 2006 from 1,933 in 2005.
In metro D.C., the median selling price of a home fell 6.82 percent in November from 2005?s $440,000 to $410,000. Agents sold 558 homes during the month, a 16.96 percent decline from the 672 units sold during the same month in 2005.
“By the late spring of 2007, the media will likely begin reporting positive ?uplifting? trends,” said Lawrence Yun, senior forecast economist for the online site realtor.org. “Statistical momentum says that will inevitably happen. Many potential buyers at that point will regain [their] confidence and enter the market. Some smart buyers will see the herd of impending buyers over the horizon and will want to get a jump start.”
