Areas in Howard County for townhome purchase (Columbia, Laurel: crime, townhomes)

[destinedtodave]

Hello,

I'm considering making the jump to home ownership in Howard County (and a couple in Northern PG). Based on some digging, I've found the following neighborhoods/areas hold promise for delivering new(ish) construction townhomes in my budget. For central MD, my budget is $350K.

-King's Meade, south of Columbia (THs off Copperwood Way)
-Woodleigh, just south of the mall/town center (THs off Hickory Ridge rd)
-Hicory Ridge, close to Howard CC (Ths on Cedar Fern ct)
-Fairway Hills golf area (THs on Chase Lions wy)
-Craftstar homes new development at Cherry ln and Breckenridge st) in Laurel 39.095340, -76.880590
-Mayfair community, off northern Contee rd in Laurel (I know there are rough neighborhoods elsewehre on Contee)

What do you feel about the long term prospects of these neighborhoods? I envision holding the property for 7-8 years, not the rest of my life, but I'd prefer to purchase in an area more likely to appreciate in value.

I would love to get some insight/opinions from you all. I've already driven through these areas to get a general feel. Thanks in advance!

[cjmeck]

Your best bet would be to have your agent pull historical data in these individual areas. I'd also pay particular attention to the number of distressed properties in those areas. And in Howard County, which schools the areas are zoned for is huge and plays a significant impact on the property values. I'd let those items mixed with crime reports (www.spotcrime.org) be my guide.