Homes Sales Rose in Much of Baltimore Real Estate Market in July

August 20, 2018

Market Minute Logo 2017 smallWith the number of home sales up in much of the Baltimore real estate market, July was a good month for the region, 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.

Baltimore Market Minute Chart July 2018

The number of homes sold rose in nearly every part of the Baltimore region in July. Harford County experienced a 12 percent increase in the number of homes sold, while Anne Arundel County experienced an 11 percent increase. Parts of the region also saw increased median sale prices, including a 6 percent increase in Harford County and a 5 percent increase in Carroll County.

Active inventory levels continued to decline in the region last month. In Harford County, inventory fell by 24 percent, and in Baltimore County it declined by 17 percent. Many areas saw low days on market averages, such as Howard County, where homes were on the market for 24 days on average. Baltimore City experienced the highest days on market average at 49 days.

Looking at the data, a number of regions in Long & Foster’s market performed better in July than in the previous spring months.

“This year’s spring market happened at different times in different regions – July was spring for some of them,” said Gary Scott, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. “It’s likely that the springtime transactions that were not happening were simply delayed, not lost.”

It’s because of these differences from one location to another that it’s important to make sure consumers aren’t taking any singular statement and applying it to any one market, Scott said.

“The media makes very general statements – ‘Prices are Appreciating’ – which feels good if I’m a seller,” Scott said. “But if the media is looking at averages, many people still fall outside of the average. Your real estate professional can help you disarm and interpret the media on a local scale.”

“Sellers in particular have to be very careful about using listing prices as comparables when putting their house on the market,” Scott said. “It’s really important to look at the sales in your area as opposed to listing prices, because listing process are more irrelevant today than they’ve been in a long time.”

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.