Frederick County Monthly Housing Report

November is finally behind us and the report has been published.  It is not great news, but still encouraging to me.  The housing boom didn’t happen over night and we shouldn’t expect the fix happen any quicker. We couldn’t ask for any better conditions for the lurking buyers out there.  One of the biggest concerns in the buyers (outside of will I have a job;) is this the best price or will prices continue to drop?  If we could answer that, we would all be rich.  The buyers and sellers in early 2000s thought it would never end.  But rest assured, if we are not at the bottom, we are definitely near it.  We will really only know when it is in the rear view mirror. Once everyone gets out of the mindset that home ownership is not a “day trader” strategy, but a long term commitment, we should be just fine. People normally live in their homes 3-7 years.  Normal appreciation in the area prior to this debacle was in the 6% range.

Housing will have its ups and downs, but just not the extreme peaks and valleys that we have been experiencing these past few years.  So with the prices bottoming out, we have another part of the puzzle that helps buyers…4.5% interest rates on 30 year fixed loans.  (you can watch the rates on my side bar to the right)  Never in our history has interest rates been this low. Sellers should be preparing there homes for showings as activity starts to pick up.  With inventory still high, sellers need to stand out in the crowd.

Now what’s happening…

This report is courtesy of Frederick County Association of REALTORS®.

For the most part you can see we didn’t have any earth shatter months in sales.  The chart represents contract.  The reality of things, not all contracts result in sales.  We owe the majority of this fall thru to short sales.  The buyers usually bail out before the bank has an answer.  I am enlightened to see that we are not far off last years numbers.  That gap is closing and should be an increase sometime soon.

With that said…contact your lender and let’s go looking for a helluva deal.

Surrounding County Market Updates

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac get bailed out along with some other major companies, while we are fighting paycheck to paycheck here on ground level with all the other economic woes.  Maybe the government will bail out our deficit too.  OK, that’s not going to happen.  We will only reap some of the  benefits as these giants get back on track.   But in the mean time we still have to deal with the reality of the market around us.

Today I will show you not only Frederick County numbers on what is going on here but a look at adjoining counties.  Remember this is a snap shot in time and can change moments and days from now.  The true test of numbers will be to see what direction they are going six months from now.  I am positive that most of the inventory will drop between now and the New Year, only because it does every year.  More and more people tend to take their property off the market and wait until spring again.

Also included will be the number of Foreclosures and bank owned properties.  With the latest LIBOR rates adjustment, I am sure we will see some impact to the Short Sales and foreclosure list.

County Housing Market

	Cont <7 days	New	Condos	Town Home	SFH	Total	Sold 30 days		Pre	Auction	Bank Owned
Frederick	40	23	171	505	1376	2134	165		253	80	140
Washington	20	9	39	157	995	1347	60		123	24	160
Allegany	9	5	1	7	405	458	41		26	5	25
Franklin, PA	14	15	9	142	1007	1299	89		4	1	0

I am surprised to see the activity just across the line in Pennsylvania.  I haven’t watch much of that market lately.  So this little exercise was eye opening for me also.  It seems they haven’t been plagued by the large number of foreclosures as we have in our area.  It also appears that Allegany county is holding their own also with almost 10% of their inventory selling in the last 30 days.  The inventory in Frederick county is starting to show signs of the season.  The total number of homes is down almost 10% from 2320 from the beginning of the month.  We should probably see this trend continue through the end of the year.  My guess is that we will see our inventory somewhere in the 1800s.  Check back in December to see if I am close.

The lending practices have definitely changed and will only lend money to qualified buyers this time.  Interest rates have been stable (for now) and housing prices have been pretty competitive.  There have been plenty of indicators that the worse is behind us, but we truly won’t know.  You might already be looking in the rear view mirror at the best Buyer’s Market in a very long time.

If you think you are ready, my phone is always on.

Have a great day.

Spring Ridge Frederick MD

Spring Ridge was built back in the mid 90s and has been one of Frederick County’s prominent communities.  Spring Ridge homes consist of single family homes with attached garages, moderately sized town houses with and without attached garages and also a variety of condominium buildings throughout.

You will find it conveniently located just off Interstate 70 and a quick ride to Interstate 270 and Route 15.  This allows the residents plenty of options on their commuter needs.  Spring Ridge community is within the 21701 zipcode but they don’t pay city taxes.

The community consist of walking paths, tot lots, soccer fields, basketball courts and a pool.  As you enter the community, you are welcomed by a gas station and a shopping plaza with dry cleaning, groceries store, pizza shop, and video rentals. The HOA fees are reasonable and comparable to other Planned Communities.

Snapshot Real Estate market in Spring Ridge.

Market in Spring Ridge 7/30/08

	Active	Under Contract	Sold in last 90 days	Ave. Days on Market
Condos	4	3	2	115
Town Homes	17	2	7	139
Single Family	20	3	3	146
Total	41	8	12	136

The average sold price for condos, townhomes and single families are respectively; $227,350, $264,596 and $451,600.

A Virtual Tour of the Area

When you are ready to buy or sell give me a call… Bob Carney 240-285-4918

Have great day.

What’s going on with the Downtown Frederick Market

As you know, it has been a little busy around these parts.  Most of my time has been spent looking at homes around the downtown area.  I have looked at detached single family homes, duplexes, townhouses or old row houses.  The prices are all over the place downtown; higher along Carroll Creek.  The magic number for my clients has been around $200,000.   There is a big difference in quality from below $225,000 to $230,000-250,000.   Most of your homes under $225,000 were in need of more TLC than others.  They were all still liveable, but needed upgrading or minor repairs.  If you looked at homes just $20,000 above, you will find a home in much better shape.

I offer these tips to the current (and future) sellers, clean your house.  Please, it really makes a difference when showing.  Declutter and remove unneccessary furniture.  Homes downtown are small, make it look as large as possible.  Curb appeal; make sure your stoop is clean and fresh looking.  It sometimes take us REALTORS® a few minutes to unlock the door and the potential buyer is looking at the cracking paint on window seals, dead flowers or weed growing out of the sidewalk cracks.   Curb appeal makes a world of difference.  It’s your first impression.

The end of summer is almost here. Vacations will be coming to an end and kids will be heading back to school.   Showings will slow down, but some of your more serious buyers will still be out and about looking for the best deal on the block.   And you have to be ready to show! Don’t give up.

Good luck and have a great day.

Next Page »