Middletown Housing Market and the Glenbrook community

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

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.

Where the hell has Bob been?

Working…working like a dog!!!

It seems like everyone has finally taken my advice and stopped listening to mainstream media.  This little blog called “Focus On Frederick” is a little over  a year old, but has taken grasp in the internet community and in the Frederick Community.  Just about anything to do with Real Estate in Frederick, you will find “Focus On Frederick.”  This blog has now become my second main source of business.  First source has always been my most gracious Sphere of Influence (Friends, family, past and present clients) or basically referrals.  I also need to plug Panera Breads, where I picked up two new clients last week.  Julie, I will find that Lake side property in Gettysburg for you…no problem!!!

But the key thing I wanted to relay to everyone…Is that PEOPLE ARE BUYING HOUSES!!! Yes, I know contrary to popular belief, people are actually buying houses.    Selling them too!!!  They are selling the well priced and well staged homes.  Buyers have too many to look at lately.  I should know, I have seen every home in Downtown Frederick priced under $250,000 this past couple weeks…sometimes even twice.  I have a new client looking this evening…so I am guessing, listing agents will see my business card on their counter tops again this week.  Each buyer wants a deal, they know what they are looking for…you Mr. Seller have to have your “A game” on every time.  Each buyer is different.  Some can see through the clutter, overstuffed closets, piled up kids stuff and all the photos on the fridge.  But some people can’t…can you take that risk?

I have been scratching my head trying to figure out what the common denominator is for all the activity and have not put my thumb on it.  Maybe it’s the scare of interest rates going up.  (you can see the most current rate to the right of this post for Maryland and Pennsylvania.)  Keep in mind that the posted interest rates are best case scenarios.  You will need to contact a local lender to find out what loan program and interest rate you can get.  Maybe it’s the fact people are getting tired of waiting around for things to change.  Or maybe it’s the public is finally gaining confidence in the upcoming election.  Who knows!!!  But anyways, I have been busy helping buyers and sellers.

And I am doing what???

I have recently helped Annie find her home downtown, working on a contract for Ron also in downtown Frederick, Dale and Susan from Texas have been looking for a very specific home and we are working on their offer today in Brunswick and finally Kevin and his family; selling their home and purchasing one a brand new home in Point of Rocks.  Marion is ready to put together an offer for her downtown Frederick home.  I meet with new clients tonight for their downtown Frederick home search.   Now that’s just a few of the buyers that are happening now.  I have sellers that I am helping market their home as best as possible.  Keeping them abreast of the current neighborhood market activity.  I also have some commercial property in Hagerstown coming up soon.  I absolutely love it like this.   Helping people find their next home and the feelings that are involved are why I continue to what I do.

So, I apologize for neglecting my little ole blog here.

How can I help you?  Give me a call or send me an email.  The market is ripe!

A glance at 2007 Market Conditions

The Frederick market has seen better days. 2007 wasn’t one of them. It wasn’t a complete failure for the housing market. It really started out strong at the beginning of the year but really tapered off the second half.

Here are some some stats that I have pulled off of MRIS and FCAR websites. Monthly, Metropolitan Regional Information Systems and Frederick County Association of REALTORS® provide statistics to their members and to the public. Everyone likes to know what is happening in the real estate market…of course the media loves to generalize the whole nation. But you have to understand that real estate is always local. The numbers I am supplying you here, might not apply to other parts of Maryland.

You can see the prices fluctuated over the last three years have actually remained the same. However 2007 is closing in on 2004′s average price just above $300,000.

As you can see as stated above, the prices really have remained pretty flat for the last couple years. Depending on what expert you listen to, the market in my opinion is going to stick around here for sometime. I would believe by the end of 2008 to 2009 will we start to see an increase in prices again. (Just my humble opinion as I see it today.)

Big jump in the Average Days on Market over the last few years.

The average number of sold home have dropped considerably over the last few years.

Well there you have it. The numbers don’t lie, we haven’t had the best of times lately in the market. I must reiterate what I have said in the past…it hasn’t been the best for sellers that have just purchased their home in the last couple years. You still have equity in your home if you purchased prior to 2004 providing you didn’t already spend it in form of a Home Equity Line of credit (HELOC) That seems to be a common complaint…I am losing money. Really your not, you have chose to spend it already.

Buyers this is truly your time to buy. So I will leave you with this… a look at the history of the Interest rates over the last 30 years.