Soggy Bottom News-End of Summer '12

The Market in our area continues to be active. People are making moves whether they are buying, selling or renting. Statistics are bearing out the predictions made last Fall by Anirban Basu that the market would turn from a Buyer's market to become a Sellers market in such a way that the rise in home values would resemble a slow moving tide washing up a little and back a little, then up a little then back a little. This can be seen in sales numbers. Builders and other real estate professionals who were able to ride out the past few years are seeing an uptick in their business and the people who became proficient in the business of helping banks, buyers and sellers qualify and process short sales have been working very long hours, weeks, and months. As with everything in selling and buying homes, it is sometimes to no avail. Rents are rising. Young Buyers who know where they want to live are saving money to buy. Investors continue to buy up abandoned properties at auction and distressed properties which are in need of work. Contractors who know investors have been able to continue to stay busy even if they have to travel hours from where they live. Some sellers are still struggling with the memory of the peak of the market a few years ago when a home could sell for way over market value even if it was in terrible condition. Home values have come down a full third of that peak value in most areas give or take. For the past few years the hottest selling properties were either full of all the latest upgrades and reasonably priced (often below the latest sales)or selling well below market due to poor condition or distressed in some other way. Many buyers and sellers have completely forgotten that in a balanced market a home would take 6 months to sell. Less than 6 months is a Sellers market. More than 6 months is considered a Buyer's market. Many homes in our area, even distressed properties have been closing in less than 6 months which makes it a Seller's market. Many Buyers and their agents continue to want to make offers as though it were still a Buyer's market. There have been multiple offer situations for months in our area and properties in good condition and priced well have sold within the first month, in some cases in the first week. As with all changes in the market, the most desirable areas begin to sell faster and prices rise before less desirable areas in the beginning of a Seller's market and the reverse occurs at the beginning of a Buyer's Market. Prices peaked in Federal Hill in Baltimore at the end of October 2005. The peak came later in other parts of Maryland. Prices in Washington D.C. have continued to be strong and rising for the last couple of years as jobs remain strong in that area. Access to rapid transit and local shopping play a role in the stability and desirability of many neighborhoods as well. Walkability is a word that has come into common parlance for communities where people want to live and set down roots and that is perhaps the best part of what people have been coming around to in recent years. Homes are places where people live their lives more than investment decisions. While a home remains one of the most and often the most expensive investment(s) many people will ever make, it is so much more. I try to help people find and buy homes that they can look forward to coming home to at the end of a long work day or at the end of a long vacation away. It is much more than a financial investment, it is part of the way you live your life. Slow growth makes for more stable neighborhoods than rapid growth which attracts investors who can afford to outbid homeowners and often leave vacant properties across the landscape. It has been hard work this year as it was last year, but this year more of it has produced the kind of results where people were able to make the moves they wanted to make and not just the ones they had to make. Looking forward to a great Fall season!