Martinsburg, WV (Montgomery, Man, Jefferson: real estate, rental market, crime rate)

[Time2Settle]

Other than what I can read for myself from the data offered on Martinsburg, WV...I would like to hear from others about this town. It's population & median income are relatively low (14K/ 36K from the 2005 data on this site....it's 2008 by the way!). Although these figures are low, it still manages to have an above average value on it's housing...which makes me believe it remains in a middle/ upper middle class area of WV. Can anyone expand on this hopeful gem?
Thanks for your insight!

[Katie1]

Thats because we are DC bedroom!

[Time2Settle]

Ahhhh, a sleeper...I'm assuming!
How about a little nite-time story to expand on the subject?

[Katie1]

Developers came in purchased all the farms but up houses for people...didnt bring in any jobs & locals cant aford to buy the homes. So people from DC came. Now we have a ton of commuters putting tons of nasty junk into the air. Kids who run wild [the Mall has become their play pen] But Katrinia gave us locals the last laugh...high gas prices!!

But the damage is done Elderly folks that worked hard for their homes are being pushed out cause of high taxes. Crime rate has gone up.

[Threerun]

If you listen closely, that sucking sound you hear is the current implosion of previously inflated property values in and around Martinsburg..

Median household income is about 45K-50ish. It's been fairly flat for a few years.

Real estate is correcting RAPIDLY in Berkeley County. A development down the road from where I used to live was selling 1,700- 2,000 sq. ft single family homes on .25acre lots for $250,000 in 2005, now the same home is selling for $170,000. That's 32% in drop.

Rental market was the big precursor to how hard values were going to fall. Investors buying homes in 2005 were looking at negative debt service coverage going into a deal; meaning the market could not bear the cost of the rent vs. the cost of the mortgage. In most cases I saw dsc was averaging .85x based on average rents, which is way under a comfortable 1.22-1.25x requirement. Simple math dictated how far values would have to decline in order to balance with the reality of the median incomes earned by people in Berkeley County. In 2005 (my worst year commercial lending THANK-GOD) we calcualated a 35-40% drop was not out of the question. We halted all financing on investment properties.

Is it middle class? Yes, as it pertains to WV I suppose so. I don't expect a big rebound in property values or many gains in median incomes as the primary industries in Berkeley and neighboring counties were heavily tied to housing and construction. Health care and service sector jobs are going to be top bannanas now. Health care will pay above the median, service sector way below..

[vec101]

Originally Posted by Threerun

Real estate is correcting RAPIDLY in Berkeley County.

I don't expect a big rebound in property values or many gains in median incomes as the primary industries in Berkeley and neighboring counties were heavily tied to housing and construction.

Real estate trend - Isn't that what is happening around the entire country? The TV and newspapers keep telling me so.

Jobs - I thought the big thing was the influx of people who work in the DC area but are moving to the Martinsburg area to live. From my understanding, these people are not moving from DC and starting jobs in WV, they still work in DC.

[Katie1]

Thats the sadest of all they dont buy local, They dont even suport the jobs that are here. Look at all the business that have closed in the past few years.

[Threerun]

Originally Posted by vec101

Real estate trend - Isn't that what is happening around the entire country? The TV and newspapers keep telling me so.

Jobs - I thought the big thing was the influx of people who work in the DC area but are moving to the Martinsburg area to live. From my understanding, these people are not moving from DC and starting jobs in WV, they still work in DC.

The majority in Berkeley County do not commute to DC. Most are from Winchester, Hagerstown, those surrounding areas. They also work in those markets and shop in those markets. Most (or more) Beltway commuters are found in Jefferson county.

When we first moved to the Panhandle my wife and I worked in Frederick MD, and yes- it was more convenient to shop in Frederick before heading home.

Oh and I think the most recent Case-Schuller index on real estate price trends I showed the US total decline in value at around 20%, so Martinsburg is a bit higher than the norm (but it also rocketed waaay up in a short time too).

For example we sold our house in December for almost twice what it cost to build (including land) just seven years prior. If we were still there, I wouldn't have sweated a 40% drop in value from 2005. I kinda expected it, actually. It was way too much appreciation too soon.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Threerun is correct, most people in Martinsburg don't work right in DC unless they take the MARC train (a mere 2 hour ride). A lot of Berkeley County residents commute to Frederick MD for work or to the many tech and research companies along the I-270 corridor in Montgomery County MD. Many more also work in the Dulles Tech Corridor of Northern VA in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties. I simply can't imagine how long it would take during the morning rush hours to drive from Martinsburg into DC, couldn't be less than 2.5 to 3 hours.

[Threerun]

Yup. Winchester, Leesburg, Frederick, Hagerstown.. Those are the usual suspects.

Can't blame them. Teachers in Loudon County VA make $15,000 more per year starting than Berkeley or Jefferson County. They're trying to make a living, and unfortunately some folks can't afford to live where they work so they move to Berkeley, Morgan or other outlying counties where the cost of housing and taxes are cheaper.

A lot of long time folks in the panhandle hold this in contempt, but really can you blame these folks for trying to make a better living, or just plain live?