Median sale prices increased throughout the region in March.
The greater Baltimore real estate market, including Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Howard, and Harford counties and the city of Baltimore, experienced some positive trends compared to March of last year, according to The Long & Foster Market Minute® reports. In March, the median sale prices increased, and inventory tightened throughout the region.
The Long & Foster Market Minute® reports are compiled from data from residential real estate transactions within specific geographic regions, not just Long & Foster sales.
March data indicates that houses continued to sell in less than three months on average in the Baltimore region. In Howard County, days on market (DOM) was at 53 days, while Baltimore County and Baltimore City had DOMs of 78 and 80 days, respectively. On average, Ann Arundel County and Harford County experienced DOMs of 83 days and 87 days, respectively.Active inventory levels continued their declines in March, with double digit decreases throughout the region. According to March data, Howard County saw an active inventory decrease of 42 percent year-over-year, and Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties experienced a 32 percent and 25 percent decrease, respectively, in active inventory. The rest of the region saw decreases in inventory that ranged from 16 percent to 23 percent.
The greater Baltimore region saw a varied number of homes sold in March, due to loss in inventory. Harford County experienced an increase of 11 percent in homes sold, compared to a year ago. Baltimore City experienced a 2 percent increase year-over-year, and Howard County reported no change compared to March 2012.
“Spring is finally here, along with an uptick in activity in the residential real estate market in the Baltimore region. With improving market conditions – including stronger than expected job growth, and rising affordability and consumer confidence – potential buyers and sellers are using this opportunity to explore what their market has to offer,” said Jeffrey S. Detwiler, president and chief operating officer of The Long & Foster® Companies.
“While inventory remains low, limiting the number of options for would-be buyers, the Baltimore market is experiencing some positive trends such as appreciating home prices and decreasing average number of days on market. These are all promising signs for the Baltimore region’s local housing market, and provide a prime opportunity for fence-sitters to fulfill their dreams of homeownership.”
The Long & Foster Market Minute® is an overview of market statistics based on residential real estate transactions and presented at the county level. The easy-to-read and easy-to-share reports include information about each area’s units sold, active inventory, median sale prices, months of supply, new listings, new contracts, list to sold price ratio, and days on market. Featuring reports for more than 500 local areas and neighborhoods in addition to morethan 100 counties in eight states, The Long & Foster Market Minute is offered to buyers and sellers as they aim to make well-informed real estate decisions.
The Long & Foster Market Minute® reports are available at www.LongandFoster.com, and users can subscribe to free updates for the reports in which they’re interested.