The Washington Post recently compiled data from the MLS showing the changes in the average home sale price across Montgomery County, comparing the fourth quarters of 2006 to 2007.
The results prove, once again, that real estate is about location, location, location.
Certain zip codes reportedly showed an increase in sales price, most notably Poolesville, Gaithersburg and parts of Rockville, Boyds and Germantown. Huge areas across the county saw drops of anywhere from 2% to 19%. Some close in areas in Bethesda and Silver Spring saw slight gains from 2% to 9%.
The oversupply of homes and the mortgage credit crunch have obviously impacted Montgomery County, although our situation is not as serious as other parts of the country.
Some of this data goes against my personal experience with my clients - Clarksburg, for example, has seen a huge drop in value. Builders are offering incredible incentives right now, which don't show up in the sales price. In addition, this data doesn't show the seller subsidy that is paid at closing that reduces the buyer's closing costs. To get an idea of the true market value, you have to deduct that subsidy to arrive at the net price.
I post reports on various Montgomery County neighborhoods on my website, where you can see current listings, homes under contract, and recent sales. You get a great idea of what is going on in the neighborhood looking at this type of report.
If you are concerned about what your home is worth, I can do a quick home evaluation via e-mail or stop by and give you a more in-depth analysis, just call me at 301-910-9910.
With over 20 years of experience, in good markets and bad, I have the education, skills, integrity and work ethic to help you with all your real estate needs in Montgomery County MD and Northern VA.
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Bob,
Looks like the market in the county is very localized. The price swings are notable, from 19% drop to about 9% gains. Bethesda is a strong neighborhood and keeps its values fairly well, even during trying times.
That is very true. Home values in Montgomery County are also very tied into the school district - certain schools are considered more desirable than others. Thanks for reading my post.
In the area that median prices went up, how does that stack up to units sold in the previous few years? There are several ways to look at numbers. Median price only give one portion of the picture! If you look at MRIS public site on stats, units sold are collapsing. in 2006 you had 963 units sold Vs. 576 Sold in December 2007. So the broad average of sales is off by over 40%. If compared to 2005 there were 1105 sales. Almost a 50% drop drop in a few years.
Jim, you are correct, sales are way off and inventory is high. The outer suburbs have more new home developments and there is more inventory, plus resales are competing against the builders who are offering large incentive packages. The closer in suburbs have less relative inventory and fewer new home developments. Many of these close in suburbs are considered more desirable because of the shorter commute into Washington DC and some have outstanding school systems - so supply and demand are more in balance. I assume Atlanta is having many of these same issues.
Atlanta's major problem has been the sub-prime and mortgage fraud. Our market has basically held up until July 07...we had less sales, but when the financing fell apart sales plunged. It is now the overloaded foreclosure inventory because of the sub-prime resets...that is forcing prices down, and financing is hard to come by for marginal buyers.