Current Real Estate Market Trends In Maryland
Trend analysis is determined by a pool of property data with commonalities over a certain period of time. Within this article data from 3 separate neighborhoods with specific parameters were analyzed. The 3 spreadsheets, one for each neighborhood, have been included for review. The compiled data was taken from these spreadsheets for the following trend analysis.
When performing market trends for areas it is imperative for proper analysis to compare historical pricing for properties that are deemed similar to one another. Since homes within suburban and urban neighborhoods tend not to vary as much as homes in rural areas built by a variety of builders analysis is more easily determined. Townhomes within Loveton Farms of Sparks, MD of Baltimore County were analyzed by obtaining townhomes from 1000 – 1500 square feet above grade on a quarterly basis. The most recent quarter yielded a median comparable settled price of $320,750, the prior quarter noted a median amount of $322,500. Due to the minimal decline within the 2 most recent quarters this analysis would reflect a stable market. Since the most recent quarter had only 2 sales it is necessary to also perform analysis on a yearly basis to further support a stable market. The average price change of the past year sales verses the amount of the prior year sales were reviewed and show a slight overall increase of 3.5%: with all trends and sale amounts taken into consideration the market for Loveton Farms would be noted as stable.
As experienced appraisers we have the ability to filter any anomalies in the market or properties that could skew unwarranted data within the criteria. When determining market trends from past sales it is also crucial to continually factor in pending sales as well as active listings within the market. Analyzing all relevant data provides further evidence of an understanding of price trends, demand and our ability to properly deliver an appraised value relevant to the current market.
We have surveyed two other communities; Rodgers Forge in Baltimore County and Box Hill in Harford County.
Box Hill’s most recent quarter is somewhat higher due to the fact that this pool of 4 homes are end of group townhomes that have been well maintained and updated. The prior quarter featured all interior townhomes with some cosmetic updating needed. The statistics indicate that values have increased 4.1% from a year ago: with all things considered including variation in updating the market is considered stable.
Rodger’s Forge is also a large townhome community that has reflected the seasonality of real estate activity. In the past 90 days the settled sales have declined but the median sale price increased slightly. This is another reason to use further methodology to conduct market trends. After analyzing the average sale price of the most recent year to that of the prior years’ average sale price of Rodgers Forge it was noted that the average settled sale increased 2.53%. Homes being typically under $300,000 for this area, this 2.5% is not substantial enough to warrant an increase in the overall trend: all things being considered this market is noted as stable.
See the charts below the date the data was compiled was 11/11/2014.