The nation in November -- and how we compare
Median prices in the country fell 3.3 percent to $210,200. But the NAR says that's at least partially due to a sharp slowdown in sales in expensive markets, skewing the overall price statistic downward.
How do we compare?
The average price was fairly steady in the Baltimore area, and that's what people tend to focus on around here. So why am I using median, you ask? Because that's what NAR uses. The advantage of median is that it's the point at which half the homes are cheaper and half more expensive.
The NAR also says U.S. home sales rose slightly -- about half a percent -- in November vs. October. But since those numbers are adjusted for seasonal variations and our local numbers aren't, there's no way to make an apples-to-apples comparison.
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Comments
I just received my latest property assessment today [like everyone else] and am perplexed at how my latest assessment is 8 - 9% higher than the last one that occurred 3 years ago. I live in Baltimore County and realize that the market is better here in Lutherville-Timonium than in a lot of other places, but an 8 -9% rise seems at odds with the downturn in the market over the last several years.
Posted by: father damien | December 31, 2007 2:00 PM
I actually address this very issue in the How-to post about assessments, which is one earlier than this post.
The quick answer is that -- on average -- sales prices are up 20 percent in the metro area since the end of 2004, the last time your neck of the woods was assessed.
Posted by: Jamie Smith Hopkins | December 31, 2007 2:25 PM