The Maryland suburbs of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan real estate market—including Charles, Frederick, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties—experienced some positive trends compared to December of last year, according to The Long & Foster Market Minute® reports. Throughout suburban Maryland, houses are selling in three months or less, on average, and inventory has tightened compared to year-ago data.
The Long & Foster Market Minute® reports are compiled from data from residential real estate transactions within specific geographic regions, not just Long & Foster sales.
Homes continued to sell quickly in the suburban Maryland region, with houses selling in three months or less, on average. In Montgomery County, days on market (DOM) remained low at 70 days. Frederick County’s DOM was 89 days, Prince George’s County’s was 88 days, and Charles County reported 90 days. Lower DOM averages can indicate signs of a strong market. Long & Foster agents point out that many homes priced competitively in the region sell in just a few weeks, sometimes with multiple offers, a reflection of continued demand and the relative lack of supply in some local areas.
In December, active inventory decreased significantly throughout the suburban Maryland region, continuing a downward trend since late 2010. Total active inventory decreased in Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties by 37 percent, 33 percent, 30 percent, and 43 percent, respectively, compared to December 2010.
Year-over-year sales decreased in most areas around the region. According to data, Prince Georges County did experience a 1 percent increase in the number of units sold, when compared to December 2010.
Many areas of the suburban Maryland region experienced a year-over-year decrease in median sale price in December.
“As we continue to see improvement across the Suburban Maryland region, it’s important for consumers to have as much information as possible to make well-informed decisions pertaining to their homeownership goals,” said Jeffrey S. Detwiler, president and chief operating officer of The Long & Foster® Companies.
“Some of these positive trends that we are seeing here in the Suburban Maryland region such as tightening inventory and quickly-selling homes could signal to consumers who may have been on the fence that now is an ideal time buy or sell real estate. Historically-low interest rates and reasonably-priced homes are creating real estate options for consumers that we have not seen for generations,” he added.
The Long & Foster Market Minute® is an overview of market statistics based on residential real estate transactions and presented at the county level. The easy-to-read and easy-to-share reports include information about each area’s units sold, active inventory, median sale prices, months of supply, new listings, new contracts, list to sold price ratio, and days on market. Featuring reports for more than 500 local areas and neighborhoods in addition to more than 100 counties in seven states, The Long & Foster Market Minute is offered to buyers and sellers as they aim to make well-informed real estate decisions.
The Long & Foster Market Minute® reports are available at www.LongandFoster.com, and users can subscribe to free updates for the reports in which they’re interested.