October home sales in the Baltimore metro area
Here's a snapshot of how the housing market in the Baltimore metro area looked in October:
--Home sales dropped 30 percent vs. a year earlier, when buyers were rushing to get the first-time home buyer tax credit
--The number of homes changing hands totaled less than 1,600, the smallest amount in the month of October for at least 12 years (that's how far back the records go)
--Average prices fell just over 1 percent, to about $272,000 (though remember to take this calculation with a grain of salt)
--"Ouch" stat of the day: It would take four-and-a-half years to sell all the $1 million-plus homes on the market at the current pace of deal-making. (Home sales in this price range dropped, unlike in September.)
The new figures, released by an arm of Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, show the drop in sales ranging by county. The biggest decline was 39 percent in Baltimore County. The smallest was 19 percent in Howard County, closely followed by Harford County's 22 percent drop.
Every time I write about home prices in the Baltimore metro area, someone inevitably looks at the average price and thinks that's for the city. So just to be clear: Metro area. Metro area. Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County and Howard County. (The federal definition includes Queen Anne's County as well, but most local number-crunchers leave that Eastern Shore jurisdiction out.)
You can see the average price by county (and Baltimore City) right here.
Sign up for the At Home newsletter 
Comments
We would like to buy a house in Howard country, but only after the house price falls another 30%. That is what I pray everyday.
Posted by: Jeremy | November 11, 2010 9:28 AM
What is somewhat startling is slowing rate of sales stacked up against record low interest rates and motivated sellers. How much bigger does the wedge of cheese have to get to lure the mice out of their holes?
I dopped the price of my home to 25% below its price to rent ratio and got no added interest from buyers whatsoever. So, rather than shoot ourselves in the foot, we rented the house out instead.
Next to the moribund sales market, we found a hot rental market.
In the case of our home, a house under $200K, I wondered if the Obama Tax Credit sucked out all the first time home buyers. Even when I bested that tax credit with a last minute 10% price reduction, nothing happened. Our agent got no calls.
I am surprised prices aren't dropping more given the market imbalance between sellers and buyers.
Posted by: smithbaltimore | November 11, 2010 9:51 AM
I agree smithbaltimore. I am amazed how sticky prices have been. Imagine what would happen if interest rates were to rise (although the Federal reserve just printed another 600 billion of our dollars as insurance against rising rates)
Posted by: Darwin Rules | November 11, 2010 10:08 AM
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/real-estate/bs-bz-october-home-sales-graphic.eps-20101110,0,2932792.graphic
I wonder if Baltimore has suffered more than the other metro areas because of its eye popping property tax rate.
Posted by: smithbaltimore | November 11, 2010 10:10 AM
Well, the tax rate varies across the metro area. (Metro area does not equal city -- see above.) The city's rate is at least twice as high as the suburbs around it, some of which saw bigger sales drops.
This is not meant to suggest that the tax rate doesn't have an impact on real estate, though -- I think everyone agrees that it does.
Posted by: Jamie Smith Hopkins | November 11, 2010 10:41 AM
Why should people sell if they'll just be shooting themselves in the foot? Why should people buy when banks are being finicky and jobs are not yet secure? Better to wait and see what equilibrium emerges in a couple of years.
Posted by: Lisa | November 12, 2010 2:59 AM