White flight outta Baltimore!! Stop hating..I don't blame them. (Annapolis: best city, real estate)

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by 14thandYou

I can't speak for Baltimore, but DC has pretty strict rent control measures in place to prevent precisely this type of thing from happening. There is also a regulation that caps the amount an individual's property taxes may go up within a given year.

if someone buys a house thats currently rented out, and wants to move in as owner occupants, arent they exempt from rent control restrictions? I didnt think DC's rent control was THAT strict, but then I really dont know.

[KLynch10]

Originally Posted by Danbo1957

The average price of a home in San Francisco is $856,700, in Baltimore $112,405. Average house price per square foot for San Francisco was $346, an increase of 3.2% compared to the same period last year (2010). Average house price per square foot for Baltimore was $127, a decrease of 6.6% compared to the same period last year (2010).

Why do you think those B'more housing prices are dropping?

The problem with just looking at general numbers is bad markets outweigh the good ones. Neighborhoods like Waverly, Bel-Air Edison, Reservoir Hill and Pig Town where the housing prices got in places they never should have been, have dropped dramatically and screwed up the numbers. There are houses in Bel-Ari Edison selling for 50% of purchase price. You really need to compare numbers by area, not as a whole, where many investors from DC, Philly an NY came in and spent 100k on anything in the city. There was a DC guy that came to my area and was spending 200+ on shells and then doing 100-150k rehabs at the peak of the market. Many of these houses are winterized right now.

All of the nice neighborhoods values have stayed much more steady. I live in Federal Hill/Locust Point, and this area is thriving right now, and there are huge developments going up in the few spots that still need to be developed. The Rental Market is sizzling hot, and the sales are slow but steady.

[jifie]

Originally Posted by EdwardA

Interesting and yet Baltimore is within a hour commute of the DC economic juggernaut and the Baltimore metro area as a whole has relatively low unemployment. You would think against this backdrop, Baltimore City would fare better but alas it does not.

It was posted on another thread, but the issue is how distinctly seperate these two cities are even though they are, physically, so close together. Why would anyone want to live in Baltimore nowadays? Crime isnt getting any better, the jobs are all going to DC, all Baltimore has left is a beautiful historic downtown and major universities. The suburbs are great, but living in the city would be unthinkable to me. Not much longer and I feel its going to turn into the next Detroit. At least is seems like they are trying to turn Detroit around though.

[atariwhizkid]

Originally Posted by jifie

It was posted on another thread, but the issue is how distinctly seperate these two cities are even though they are, physically, so close together. Why would anyone want to live in Baltimore nowadays? Crime isnt getting any better, the jobs are all going to DC, all Baltimore has left is a beautiful historic downtown and major universities. The suburbs are great, but living in the city would be unthinkable to me. Not much longer and I feel its going to turn into the next Detroit. At least is seems like they are trying to turn Detroit around though.

I think it's mostly an issue of perception. People perceive crime to be very bad, when, in fact, the rates are slowly declining (less than 50 percent of what they were at their peaks in the mid 90s). There are jobs here. Perhaps there aren't as many here as there are in DC, but compared to some other comparable cities across the nation with a dwindling industrial sector, Baltimore's not doing badly. It's the idea that Baltimore is a dirty and dangerous city is what really holds it back.

Here's my anecdote about perception. I work in DC and live in Baltimore. When I tell colleagues that I live in Baltimore city, many actually shudder and say things like, "Wow, you are brave!" They also believe that Baltimore is about a million miles from DC and are completely surprised that my commute takes the same amount of time on the MARC train as their drive from NoVA to downtown DC. Even people that live or work fairly close to Baltimore have a bad opinion about it.

Unfortunately, it's really tough to change that perspective. It might boil down to people living preferences. There was a time not long ago when the same was said about DC, and now most people see it as a reasonably nice place to live.

[jifie]

Originally Posted by atariwhizkid

I think it's mostly an issue of perception. People perceive crime to be very bad, when, in fact, the rates are slowly declining (less than 50 percent of what they were at their peaks in the mid 90s). There are jobs here. Perhaps there aren't as many here as there are in DC, but compared to some other comparable cities across the nation with a dwindling industrial sector, Baltimore's not doing badly. It's the idea that Baltimore is a dirty and dangerous city is what really holds it back.

Here's my anecdote about perception. I work in DC and live in Baltimore. When I tell colleagues that I live in Baltimore city, many actually shudder and say things like, "Wow, you are brave!" They also believe that Baltimore is about a million miles from DC and are completely surprised that my commute takes the same amount of time on the MARC train as their drive from NoVA to downtown DC. Even people that live or work fairly close to Baltimore have a bad opinion about it.

Unfortunately, it's really tough to change that perspective. It might boil down to people living preferences. There was a time not long ago when the same was said about DC, and now most people see it as a reasonably nice place to live.

While the crime is dwindling, the crime is also getting lower in the country as a whole. Every major city has had a lowering of crime rates, but Baltimore city is still a contender for the top spot every year. Granted I havent lived in the area in a few years, I do go back and visit every year and I dont think Baltimore has changed much.

Baltimore doesnt have the jobs that people are wanting right now. There are good medical jobs, but for the newer tech industries, there isnt much to choose from. My other issue with Baltimore is it doesnt seem like anything is trying to be done to fix the perception you were talking about. There arent any new initiatives that I've heard about to clean up the city and make it more livable.

[westsideboy]

The real difference between Detriot and Baltimore in the economy. Baltimore may have problems, but it is in the middle of a wealthy, job-filled area propped up by the federal government. Detroit is "on an island" so to speak up there on the lake. When the jobs leave, the people leave, and the city crumbles. What jobs can Detroit create to bring these people back?

Baltimore's problems seem to be more internal. If the city can get its house in order in regards to public schools, tax rates, and crime, the population is still around the area to move back in. They just need to have the right incentives to do so.

[jifie]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

The real difference between Detriot and Baltimore in the economy. Baltimore may have problems, but it is in the middle of a wealthy, job-filled area propped up by the federal government. Detroit is "on an island" so to speak up there on the lake. When the jobs leave, the people leave, and the city crumbles. What jobs can Detroit create to bring these people back?

Baltimore's problems seem to be more internal. If the city can get its house in order in regards to public schools, tax rates, and crime, the population is still around the area to move back in. They just need to have the right incentives to do so.

Very true. There are still plenty of people around, but theres no way Baltimore can compare any time soon to DC. I think it will take a lot of hard and time consuming work to get Baltimore to take care of those internal problems, and I havent seen anyone yet willing to take on the issues on a large scale.

[KLynch10]

Originally Posted by jifie

It was posted on another thread, but the issue is how distinctly seperate these two cities are even though they are, physically, so close together. Why would anyone want to live in Baltimore nowadays? Crime isnt getting any better, the jobs are all going to DC, all Baltimore has left is a beautiful historic downtown and major universities. The suburbs are great, but living in the city would be unthinkable to me. Not much longer and I feel its going to turn into the next Detroit. At least is seems like they are trying to turn Detroit around though.

Generalize much? Good Gosh. Crime has gone way down. Baltimore was just voted the #1 city for college grads, and the 5th best major city to find a job. The young professional population of Baltimore has grown 130% over the last 5 years.

You may not want to move down here, but you should try putting a home up for rent in one of the hot downtown neighborhoods and see how many calls you get in the first day.

Stick to California, you are clearly just a troll when talking about Baltimore, you bring nothing to the conversation but wrong assumptions! You were proven wrong on your crime assumption, then made it seem okay by saying that crime is going down in a lot of places, just admit, you are wrong!

No one is doing anything about the problems? A new States Attorney was just elected, with several other key congress positions changed. There is a big election coming up soon for Mayor and Council Members, and there are some extremely active neighborhood associations right now in some of the improving areas.

[atariwhizkid]

Originally Posted by jifie

While the crime is dwindling, the crime is also getting lower in the country as a whole. Every major city has had a lowering of crime rates, but Baltimore city is still a contender for the top spot every year. Granted I havent lived in the area in a few years, I do go back and visit every year and I dont think Baltimore has changed much.

I assume when you visit you take a trip down to the police station to collect crime statistics and also stop by City Hall to check out the latest initiatives, right?

You prove my point about perception wonderfully.

[KLynch10]

Originally Posted by atariwhizkid

I assume when you visit you take a trip down to the police station to collect crime statistics and also stop by City Hall to check out the latest initiatives, right?

You prove my point about perception wonderfully.

I noticed he is on a lot of the forums. I would venture to guess that he's definitely never lived here, and has probably never been here.