Active inventory continued its downward trend throughout the Baltimore region, while median sale prices rose in some areas, according to the Long & Foster Market Minute reports. The Baltimore region includes Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Carroll, Howard and Harford counties and the city of Baltimore.

A few areas of the greater Baltimore region saw the number of homes sold increase last month, including in Carroll County, where sales rose by 13 percent. In Howard County, the number of home sold increased by 9 percent, followed by Baltimore County with a 2 percent increase. Carroll County also experienced the largest jump in median sale price, increasing by 12 percent last month. Anne Arundel County saw a 7 percent increase, while Howard County saw a 6 percent increase.

With the exception of Baltimore City, active inventory in the region fell by double digits in April. Baltimore City saw a 7 percent decline, while all other areas experienced decreases between 17 percent and 31 percent. Homes sold at a quick pace throughout the region, with days on market averages ranging from 35 days to 52 days.

“Although inventory has been declining across the country for three years, the Baltimore real estate market is in a relatively healthy place,” said Gary Scott, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. “Rising median sale prices cause some to worry that another real estate bubble may be on the horizon, but this market is very different than the one that led us into the recession.”

Scott said a number of factors made the pre-recession market susceptible, including the availability of credit and lack of regulations, the prevalence of adjustable rate mortgages, and home values that appreciated quickly in a very short time frame. Comparatively, it took 10 years of gradual increases for median sale prices to get to where they are now, he said.

The volatility of the stock market has resulted in many looking to the real estate market as a way to broaden their investment portfolio. Real estate investing is a great long-term strategy to build wealth that offers a number of benefits when planned well.

“There are a few key things to research and plan if you’re going to invest in real estate,” Scott said. “That includes trends in appreciation, vacancy rates, and supply and demand. You also need to establish clear goals and objectives.”

“Define your business rules and don’t deviate from them until it’s time to evaluate how your investments are performing,” he said. “Know what you can afford and what you can’t – consider the best case scenario, the worst case scenario and the most likely scenario. And have an appreciation and understanding that the real estate market changes.”

The Long & Foster Market Minute is an overview of market statistics based on residential real estate transactions for more than 500 local areas and neighborhoods and over 100 counties in eight states. The easy-to-read, easy-to-share reports include information about each area’s units sold, active inventory, median sale prices, list to sold price ratio, days on market and more.

Information included in this report is based on data supplied by Metropolitan Regional Information System and its member associations of Realtors, which are not responsible for its accuracy. The reports include residential real estate transactions within specific geographic regions, not just Long & Foster sales, and they do not reflect all activity in the marketplace. Information contained in this report is deemed reliable but not guaranteed, should be independently verified, and does not constitute an opinion of MRIS or Long & Foster Real Estate.