Neighborhood: Lauraville

Location: northeast Baltimore

Average sales price: $184,000 (January through June)

Notable features: Single-family homes -- some quite large -- on streets with a quiet, off-the-beaten-track atmosphere. Yet the eastern boundary is Harford Road, a major artery. Businesses in the area include a Safeway grocery store and Main Street-style independently owned shops.

Lauraville was mostly built in the 1910s and '20s, but it became a village with a post office just after the Civil War, according to the Lauraville Improvement Association. Much of the neighborhood is on the National Register of Historic Places.

It recently got a nod from This Old House magazine as the "Best Old House Neighborhood" in Maryland. (I pondered whether to disqualify it as a "hidden" gem for that reason, but I think it's still off most folks' radar.)

Here's the clincher: Residents here are super-enthusiastic about their neighborhood. I say that because lots of people put in nominations for Lauraville and the whole "Greater Lauraville" area, which includes the surrounding neighborhoods of Arcadia, Beverly Hills, Hamilton Hills, Mayfield, Moravia-Walther, Morgan Park and Waltherson.

Continue reading "Hidden gem: Lauraville" »

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Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

Neighborhood: Lake Walker

Location: northern Baltimore

Average sales price: $235,000 (January through June)

Notable features: This neighborhood hard against the city-county line is, architecturally speaking, the opposite of the suburban cul-de-sac where every house looks exactly the same. Here you'll find nineteenth-century farmhouses, modest Depression-era homes, bungalows, brick townhouses, stylish Tudor townhouses (pictured above) and even some homes that could participate in a suburban cul-de-sac exchange program without anyone being the wiser.

There's no lake -- the neighborhood is named after two streets. But the tree-lined Lake Avenue looks awfully nice even without water as a draw.

Lake Walker, bounded on the west by York Road, is within walking distance of a Giant grocery store. Because it's just south of Towson, it's not far from malls, colleges and Interstate 695. But never mind that for a moment. See what I mean about the homes:

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Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

Neighborhood -- or, in this case, community: Havre de Grace

Location: Harford County

Average sales price: $241,000 (January through June)

Notable features: Water, water, everywhere. Havre de Grace's northeastern boundary is the Susquehanna River, and along its southeastern edge flows the Chesapeake Bay. There's a boardwalk promenade along the river and boats galore, plus a quaint downtown on the National Register of Historic Places.

Some of the homes here are historic and stately. Some are just darn cute. Take a look:

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Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

Neighborhood: Brewers Hill

Location: Southeast Baltimore

Average sales price: $223,000 (January-June). The cheapest home that sold was $157,000; the most expensive, $271,000.

Notable features: Ask people in the region to name a funky Baltimore neighborhood near the water, and they'll probably come up with Canton. Brewers Hill, its small next-door-neighbor to the east, gets a lot less attention. But it has neatly-kept rowhouses, cool beer-brewing history (wave hello to Mr. Boh, pictured above) and easy access to Canton hot spots without the bustling activity.

As reader EL put it when nominating this neighborhood for gem consideration, "We have all the fun of Canton, but none of the parking headaches or intoxicated frat boys."

Some of the blocks look very much like Canton:

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Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

First up on the hidden-gem list: Ashburton.

Location: Northwest Baltimore.

Average sales price: $141,000 (January-June).

Notable features: Beautiful single-family homes -- some brick -- and lots of mature trees. An old-money feel without the price tag. Directly to the south is Hanlon Park, with Lake Ashburton.

A 2002 study of city neighborhoods, prepared by Johns Hopkins University graduate students, called Ashburton "a well-defined enclave in northwest Baltimore that has established itself as the home of Baltimore's black elite." In fact, I almost disqualified Ashburton from this list because I thought it was an unhidden gem, a place most people know about. Until I started asking around and got puzzled looks, that is.

Here's the view down Ellamont Road:

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Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

Several folks guessed at the hidden-gem neighborhoods based on these photos -- and good guesses they were -- but only one reader correctly named any of them.

So congratulations, bryanintowson! For identifying the twin neighborhoods of Loch Raven Village and Knettishall, you win due praise, a copy of Our Lot: How Real Estate Came to Own Us by Alyssa Katz and a Real Estate Wonk magnet.

Send a mailing address to jamie.smith.hopkins(at)baltsun.com and I'll ship them your way.

Thanks to you all for playing the guessing game. If you other guessers would like a magnet, email me and I'll send you one, too.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

Nice places are tucked all over the Baltimore region, from urban rowhouse neighborhoods to rural outposts. As part of the Sun's 10Spot blog campaign, I set out to find 10 that everybody and their brother doesn’t already know about -- ones with prices in reach of first-time home buyers.

With your help, I've picked 10 of these hidden-gem neighborhoods. They aren't the only gems out there, and I'm not claiming they're the absolute best. (You'll never get a completely objective list out of something so subjective.) But they're all fairly affordable, with average sale prices under $250,000 in the first half of this year. And they're a cross-section of the great variety you can find in our metro area.

Want an urban setting? On the list. In the city but with a suburban feel? Check. The Chesapeake Bay in walking distance? Yup. Cows as neighbors? Got just the place for you. The much-vaunted Howard County schools? Got that, too.

As much as possible, I tried to pull from the list of neighborhoods people cared about enough to nominate. And every jurisdiction is represented. That's on purpose, because you all have reasons for wanting to be in one or another.

Here are the neighborhoods, in alphabetical order. Drumroll, please:

Continue reading "Hidden-gem neighborhoods unveiled" »

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: 10Spot, Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

Prizes for right guesses, plus your name in lights (or rather blog pixels).

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 8:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

Calling all competitive Baltimore-area residents: Can you guess which neighborhoods are pictured in this post? C'mon, take a stab at it. The person with the most correct guesses receives a real estate book and due praise.

So far, just one guesser. The field is wide open. (It closes Thursday night because the big reveal is Friday.)

You don't have to live in the area to play, but I'm, ah, guessing Baltimore residency will help.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

Next Friday, I'll unveil the long-awaited list of hidden-gem neighborhoods -- nice, off-the-radar and relatively affordable spots in the Baltimore region. In the meantime, can you guess the 10? Photos of each are above.

The person with the most correct guesses wins a copy of Our Lot: How Real Estate Came to Own Us by Alyssa Katz. Anyone with at least one correct guess is entitled to a Real Estate Wonk magnet.

Remember, each of the 10 is in the Baltimore metro area and had an average sale price under $250,000 in the first half of the year. More than half were suggested by you lovely Wonk readers.

Two hints: Each Baltimore-area jurisdiction has at least one. And a few of the spots are really communities, not neighborhoods.

You don't have to squint at the photos. Click on any and a larger version will pop up.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

Months ago, I asked you to nominate Baltimore-area neighborhoods that are hidden gems -- nice, affordable places that aren't already on everybody's radar. You inundated me with suggestions.

You'll finally get to see the results Nov. 13, part of a Sun blogger campaign called 10Spot. First up -- today, in fact -- is Peter Hermann with the most notorious local crimes.

I thought a list of 10 neighborhoods would be a nice little side project. Little did I know how much time it would take to research, select, visit and compile. Boy, am I glad I'm almost done, as is everyone sitting near enough to me to hear my muttered complaints.

But it's been a great way to see parts of the region I've never or seldom spent time in. And I hope the exercise will introduce you to interesting neighborhoods you might know nothing about.

You'll get a chance to guess the 10 -- with clues and prizes! -- in two weeks.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: 10Spot, Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

I asked you to tell me about hidden-gem neighborhoods in the Baltimore metro area, nice places off the popular radar where homes typically cost less than $250,000. You've collectively nominated 44 -- all but a handful in the city -- that you think fit the bill.

Here's the nomination list as it stands now. Is a worthy neighborhood missing? (Or did I somehow miss your nomination?) Add it in the comments. (We still have no nods for Harford County places.)

I'll soon be going through the list myself, so -- last call.

Continue reading "Hidden-gem nomimations thus far" »

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (27)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

I still want nominations -- keep 'em coming HERE -- and particularly challenge suburbanites to offer up neighborhoods for the list. (Unless there are really only a couple of suburban neighborhoods with typical prices under $250,000 that any of you like living in?) City folks, you're all over this: splendid work. Though I'm sure there are a number of as-yet-unnominated Baltimore City neighborhoods in need of a spotlight, so don't stop now.

The amount of ardent support for your neighborhoods can't be contained in one top-ten list, or at least that's what I'm beginning to suspect. So -- which of you ardent supporters would like to get a little more soapbox time to say what you like about your communities? I'll line up Q&As (simple ones) for the blog, if enough of you raise your hands.

This will be in addition to the hidden-gems list I'm compiling, not instead of. And tell you what: no $250,000 ceiling on the Q&As.

Raising your hand is easy. Comment below. Just be sure to fill in the part that asks for email address.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

Keep those nominations coming. I'd like suggestions all across the city and in each nearby county. So far, nobody's recommended any communities in Anne Arundel, Carroll, Harford or Howard. (The price requirement -- below $250,000 -- makes it tricky in the more expensive suburbs, I know.)

Here's a recap of what I'm looking for: places in the metro area where the housing stock is decent, typical prices are below $250,000, crime isn't rampant and there's something that people would like if only they knew about it -- fun night life, a great elementary school, a strong neighborhood association, etc. You can nominate neighborhoods or entire ZIP codes.

Add your nominations to the running list here, or simply comment on this post.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods
        

I'm making a list and want your input. I'd like nominations for places in the metro area where the housing stock is decent, typical prices are below $250,000, crime isn't rampant and there's something that people would like if only they knew about it -- fun night life, a great elementary school, a strong neighborhood association, etc.

I can crunch numbers all I want -- which is just what I'm doing, as it happens -- but there's no substitute for recommendations from people who like where they're living. So leave a comment nominating a place or several places. I'm eager to hear your suggestions, whether they're neighborhoods nobody knows about (well, except the residents) or ones that have an unfairly not-so-great reputation.

UPDATE: Keep putting your nominations here, but see this post for another opportunity to get the word out about the neighborhoods you love.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 6:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (95)
Categories: Hidden-gem neighborhoods