Maryland home shoppers know that if they can’t afford to buy inside the Beltway, more affordable homes may be found in other directions. Look west to Frederick County, east to Anne Arundel County, or south to Charles County, and you’ll find that homes are priced about the same.
These counties are some of the most attractively priced communities in the area. Even though prices rose quickly there during the boom, they dropped off in the past two years. Median sales prices in February were down 3 percent in Frederick, 7 percent in Anne Arundel and 15 percent in Charles.
The sharp drop in prices in Charles County is directly connected to the sharp rise in inventory. The number of homes for sale has more than doubled in two years, making sellers compete harder.
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Those who managed to make a sale in February in these three counties found that it took about five months to finally find a buyer. Compare that to four months in Fairfax and Montgomery and three months in Arlington and the District. Clearly, it’s easier to sell a home if it is closer to the region’s core.
Still, many buyers struggle with price, and the tightening of lending standards has made price even more of an issue.
That can work to the advantage of outlying counties. The sharp drop in prices in Prince William County seemed to fuel a sales surge in February. However, Prince William is the most-affordable county between Spotsylvania and Baltimore. The median sales price in Charles in February was $30,000 more than it was in Prince William.
Still, if home prices drop any more in Charles, Frederick and Anne Arundel, they could find that buyer interest picks up this year.
— Chris Sicks
Contact Chris Sicks by e-mail (csicks@gmail.com).
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