Rising Home Prices in Maryland (Silver Spring, Frederick: sales, real estate market, foreclosures)

[justtitans]

Some good news

Gazette.Net: Rising home prices in Maryland encouraging, agents say

An 11 percent hike in the average sale price of an existing home in Maryland last month has real estate agents and others feeling better about the housing market.


The average price climbed to $298,000, the highest monthly level in almost two years, according to figures released Monday by the Maryland Association of Realtors. The median price also rose 11 percent.

......

Prince George’s and Frederick counties both saw an 8 percent rise in average home prices in April, while units sold declined by about 1 percent. Howard County saw the opposite trend, with prices declining by 4 percent and units sold rising by 22 percent.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

Some good news

Gazette.Net: Rising home prices in Maryland encouraging, agents say

It's also our subjective impression that there is more selling in the market now. We watch the 20902 (Kemp Mill) area, as we still own the house there. Houses that have been on the market a year have finally sold, and there seems to be a lot lower inventory in the larger home category. There are still some foreclosures, but seem to be fewer.

[Zxcvbn]

Yes, as someone who has been watching several neighborhoods in different counties, I have watched this firsthand. We are not quite ready to buy yet, but I will save favorite homes on Redfin, only to watch them go under contract soon thereafter. Some have been in less than a week. MoCo real estate was hot in March, with some open houses having throngs of visitors. I was in one house with about thirty others coming and going at the same time. That house must have seen a hundred people that day. It was officially under contract three days later.

[adelphi_sky]

I would guess some of it is due to BRAC and the consolidation at agencies like the FDA in Silver Spring which will soon have over 6,000 employees. It also helps that the DC area has one of the better job markets in the country. In addition, there are pretty good deals in MD.

[EdwardA]

When you are bringing up the rear I guess up is the only way to go. PG's median sales price is less than half of the entire DC's region median sales price. As far as PG is concerned I wouldn't make too much of it. Up one month, down the next.

[RamblingMan]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

Some good news

Gazette.Net: Rising home prices in Maryland encouraging, agents say



......

Just to be contrarian, why is a broad rise in home prices good news? It might be good news for sellers or people who are upside down on their houses, but for buyers it is certainly negative. I already have a house and I don't plan on selling anytime soon, so rising home prices only means spending more on property taxes and insurance.

I admit to being a contrarian, but I think a primary residence should be viewed mostly as a place to live, not as an investment. People who think that they're really "richer" because their house is going up in value are kidding themselves. In general, unless they realize income by selling property to move into a smaller home or a less expensive area, a rise in the value their home is largely irrelevant to their standard of living. I will concede that rising values would be significant to their estate.

[PFK]

Yes, it is great! My home went up $1100 so now I am only $140K underwater. (Waldorf, bought in 07)

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by RamblingMan

Just to be contrarian, why is a broad rise in home prices good news? It might be good news for sellers or people who are upside down on their houses, but for buyers it is certainly negative. I already have a house and I don't plan on selling anytime soon, so rising home prices only means spending more on property taxes and insurance.

I admit to being a contrarian, but I think a primary residence should be viewed mostly as a place to live, not as an investment. People who think that they're really "richer" because their house is going up in value are kidding themselves. In general, unless they realize income by selling property to move into a smaller home or a less expensive area, a rise in the value their home is largely irrelevant to their standard of living. I will concede that rising values would be significant to their estate.

You do have a valid point but a lot of people are underwater including yours truly. If you already live here, most people are going to want to see value go up because some people have had difficulty re-financing even with all these programs, some people want to sell their places and some just want to see some signs that their neighborhoods won't be blighted by foreclosures.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

I would guess some of it is due to BRAC and the consolidation at agencies like the FDA in Silver Spring which will soon have over 6,000 employees. It also helps that the DC area has one of the better job markets in the country. In addition, there are pretty good deals in MD.

I think the job market (mainly the federal government) is keeping MD afloat right now.

[badchad]

Originally Posted by RamblingMan

Just to be contrarian, why is a broad rise in home prices good news?

I think that many people view the real estate market as a general indicator of the overall economy.