Though the number of homes available for sale in the Baltimore region remains low, many of those that sold in June spent just a few weeks on the market, 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.

Active inventory levels continued their region-wide decline in June when compared to the same month last year. Harford County saw the steepest decrease at 29 percent, followed by Baltimore County with a 20 percent decrease. Homes in the region sold quickly in June with days on market averages ranging from 21 days in Howard County to 49 days in Baltimore City.

Sales decreased throughout much of the area last month, though Harford County experienced a 1 percent increase in homes sold. A number of places in the region saw rising median sale prices, including a 10 percent bump in Harford County. Baltimore City and Howard County both experienced a 5 percent increase in median sale price, and Carroll County saw a 2 percent increase.

Gary Scott, president of Long & Foster Real Estate, said when it comes to the real estate market as a whole, consumers can expect the second half of this year to look much like the first half. Low inventory of homes will continue to make buying a challenge. However, he said he also sees opportunity on the horizon.

“When you think about household formations over the next three to five years, the demographics are our friend, not our foe,” Scott said. “The Boomers who own homes are going to need to sell their houses as they age, and the Millennials are going to start buying at a greater pace as they get married and start families. Millennials aren’t in the same hurry as previous generations to start a family and build wealth.”

In the meantime, the best thing that people navigating the current market can do is work with a real estate professional. Scott said consumers’ access to information and data, which can often be chaotic and incorrect, has heightened the need for professional advisors with total market knowledge.

“There are many real estate agents that are sales people who aren’t committed, aren’t professionally trained and aren’t prepared,” Scott said. “They’re not real estate professionals, who are trusted advisors that build solid relationships. It’s not hard to be a real estate agent, but it’s really hard to be a good one.”

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.