Middletown Housing Market and the Glenbrook community
February 23, 2009 by Bob Carney
Filed under Market Conditions
It has been a while since I have taken a close look at the Middletown market and posted it here. I have had some recent inquiries in this area. That’s a good sign…inquiries that is. Activities have started to pick up all over the county. With the latest stimulus package offering $8,000 tax credit to first time home owners, it should help a few people get off the fence. In my opinion, there still needs to be some hard work done to keep home owners in their house. I have written plenty of articles about Short Sales and foreclosures in the area…what I have learned about them over the last few years, the banks don’t know how to make a decision quickly. Once they are foreclosed, they are able to make quick decisions. The main reason is that they turn them over to third party asset managers. They should consider this for short sales as well. I think they would make more money or at least minimize their loss.
So why am I talking about short sales in Middletown? Because they have their share of them. Just looking at the Glenbrook Community, there are five out of twelve homes listed are either short sales (“subject to third party approval”) or bank owned already. Here’s the most recent activity in Glenbrook.
No matter how nice the community, today’s economy has an impact on everyone. Below you will see some numbers of the whole Middletown area. You will see some major price drops over last year and also much longer market times. (you can click here for last years update)
Market Conditions in Middletown MD 2/23/09
| Active | Under Contract | Sold in last 90 days | Ave. Days on Market | Ave Price (sold) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Condos | O | O | O | NA | |
| Town Homes | 3 | 4 | 2 | 94 | $251,800 |
| Single Family | 79 | 14 | 11 | 241 | $453,118 |
| Total | 82 | 18 | 13 | 220 | $421,546 |
| January | 2009 | 2008 | Change | ||
| Ave Sold Price | $370,980 | $399,200 | -7.07% | ||
| Ave List Price of Solds | $423,560 | $436,320 | -2.92% | ||
| Percentage of Avg List Price: | 87.59% | 91.49% |
If you would like to see the list of homes that make up this report you can check that out here. This will give you an idea of the homes in zip code 21769. If you would like a more personalize report specific to your home and neighborhood, feel free to contact me.
Have a great day.
Bob is a licensed Real Estate agent in Maryland and Pennsylvania. You can contact him via email at bob@gotbob4homes.com or call him on his cell phone at 240-285-4918. Bob left the Frederick area to manage a resort office near Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland. He still stays in touch with the area that he has grown to love. 
Bob Carney
A realtor saying “now is a great time to buy a house” is like used car salesmen saying “now is a great time to buy a car”. This market still has a long way to drop.
The comparison is just not there. Cars will always depreciate from the day you purchase them. We went through a real estate day trading era a few years back as they were appreciating at ungodly rates. We are finishing up on a much needed correction in the market. People need to follow their parents and stay in a home to build the equity. So yes, now is the time to buy why the cost of money is low. (5.11% as of this moment) Sure homes might depreciate some more over the short term, but the long haul will pay off. The average person stays in a home 3-7 years.
Thanks for stopping by.