Columbia, MD

Columbia, Maryland is a 14,000-acre planned community situated midway between Baltimore and Washington, DC., and the city lies in the Piedmont region of Maryland, with its eastern edge at the fall line. In 2006, Columbia was rated 4th on Money Magazine's list of 100 "Best Places to Live" in the United States and in 2008, Columbia and Ellicott City were ranked #8. Visit my Columbia MD Real Estate site and view Columbia Maryland Homes, Columbia MD Townhomes/Condos for sale.

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Columbia Maryland Real Estate includes nine villages and Town Center offering a broad mix of home styles and types at various price points. Columbia enjoys convenient access to Annapolis, the Chesapeake Bay and popular beach resorts. Three international and regional airports are located within an hour's drive from Columbia, with Baltimore - Washington International Airport only 20 minutes away.

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Columbia Village – Neighborhoods

Wilde Lake – Bryant Woods, Faulkner Ridge, Running Brook, The Birches
Harper's Choice – Longfellow, Swansfield, Hobbit's Glen
Oakland Mills – Thunder Hill, Talbott Springs, Stevens Forest
Long Reach – Phelps Luck, Jeffers Hill, Locust Park, Kendall Ridge
Owen Brown – Dasher Green, Elkhorn, Hopewell
Hickory Ridge – Clemens Crossing, Hawthorn, Clary's Forest
Dorsey's Search – Dorsey Hall, Fairway Hills
Kings Contrivance – Dickinson, Huntington, Macgill's Common
River Hill – Pheasant Ridge, Pointers Run, River Run
Town Center – Vantage Point, Banneker, Amesbury, Creighton's Run, and Warfield Triangle

COLUMBIA MARYLAND REAL ESTATE IS UNIQUE FOR THIS AREA OF MARYLAND. A planned community where no benefit for the home owners was overlooked. Started in the 1960s, Columbia is a community of 10 "Villages", each with it's own community amenities and style. One feature about Columbia that was planned throughout is the planned undeveloped areas, set aside for nature preserves, wooded acres and entertainment for residents and guests.

Maryland State Flower - The Black Eyed Susan

VILLAGE OF HARPER'S CHOICE
If you like Contemporary architecture, you'll love many of the homes in Villages of Harper's Choice. This was the third Columbia Village.

VILLAGE OF WILDE LAKE
Wilde Lake, dedicated in June, 1967 is Columbia's first Village. Built around a lake. This 22-acre man-made lake has a depth range from 13 feet at the back of the dam to 7-8 feet in the central part of the lake. The site was originally a low-lying meadow covered with rough grass, with a small stream running through it.

VILLAGE OF DORSEY'S SEARCH
On of the newer of the ten villages, Dorsey's Search was the ninth to be developed. Families began moving in to their homes in Dorsey's Search in 1980. Since then, there are over 7,500 residents.

VILLAGE OF TOWN CENTER
The community of Town Center is unique since it offers primarily condominium and town home type homes, in non-continguous communities, all within walking distance of The Mall at Columbia.

VILLAGE OF HICKORY RIDGE
The first home owners moved in to Hickory Ridge in 1971 and have been at home here ever since. This is a large community going from the heart of Hickory Ridge to Route 32. Over 4,600 homes and over 13,000 residents.

VILLAGE OF RIVER HILL
River Hill is Columbia's tenth village and one of the most popular with buyers looking for new homes in Columbia. Recently constructed communities and a very popular public school cluster attract buyers to homes in River Hill.

VILLAGE OF OAKLAND MILLS
Oakland Mills offers families Columbia real estate with extraordinary value. On a per square foot basis, Oakland Mills is often the best buy in town.

VILLAGE OF LONG REACH
The largest and one of the oldest of the ten villages that offer homes in Columbia, Maryland. Wonderful communities have grown in Long Reach: Jeffers Hill, Kendall Ridge, Locust Park and Phelps Luck, since construction began in 1971.

VILLAGE OF OWEN BROWN
Owen Brown Village is popular with Columbia home buyers looking for a quick commute to Washington, DC since the community is located on the southern edge of Columbia.

VILLAGE OF KING'S CONTRIVANCE
The Village of King's Contrivance houses about 11,000 residents and is the third largest of the nine villages plus Town Center that make up Columbia.

SHOPPING AT THE MALL IN COLUMBIA, MARYLAND
A shopper's delight. This shopping center in Columbia, Maryland is convenient, serves the entire county and offers a variety of shopping resources to suit every resident who owns a home in Columbia, Maryland.

JCPENNY * LORD & TAYLOR * NORDSTROM * SEARS * AMC THEATRES * LL BEAN

EXAMPLE OF HOMES FOR SALE IN COLUMBIA

Near Hobbits Glenn Golf Course!!

Contact us for a tour of homes in Columbia, Maryland.

Search Listings, Active listings of homes for sale in Montgomery County, MD

Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988.

Homefinders.com is an Equal Housing Opportunity Broker.

HOWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The excellence of the Howard County public schools have been a primary contributor to the popularity of real estate in Howard County, Maryland. When you work with a Homefinders.com buyers agent in Howard County, we will provide you with the information to help you make good home buying decisions based on your family and your children's unique needs.

When I first moved to the Kings Contrivance village of Columbia, there was a grocery store in the village center that was convenient but old and fairly depressing. It was replaced in short order by a Safeway that was better, but not much. I always found their store arrangement puzzling; aisles marked "Breakfast" and "Dinner" didn't actually tell me what I would find there. And what was plastic wrap doing in the "Dinner" aisle anyway? The worst part was that it never seemed quite as clean as it might be, and some genius had ordained that there should be music aimed at 20-somethings played loud enough to make it hard to concentrate when I was reading a nutrition label. The best I could say for the store was that it was convenient, but that wasn't enough to keep me as a customer.

I chose to drive a couple miles farther away to get to a Giant Food in Owen Brown Village that had been renovated and enlarged. Giant had a logical layout and generally pleasant people. They ran specials and sent coupons in the mail for things I actually bought. The stores were clean and I could usually find what I wanted.

But of course that couldn't last. Giant was acquired by the Dutch outfit that owns the Stop 'N Shop stores. What had been a well-run local chain deteriorated as the "suits" declared that some products I liked didn't turn quickly enough, and that variety in all departments was not as important as volume sales. But, it was still the best alternative, especially as the old Safeway had closed (no surprise).

Then the news made local headlines – our Kings Contrivance center would get the first Harris Teeter store in the area! There would be genuine competition to the Giant/Stop 'N 'Shop. And guess what? As the old Safeway building was being demolished, the Giant began a renovation project that eventually made the store brighter and more open. I think they also did some staff training because the helpfulness and courtesy levels increased. And though they still don't have everything I want, the Giant is a fine place to shop.

Except that Harris Teeter is now open and well worth the wait. Not only is the store several notches above anything around in terms of selection, the people who staff the store have clearly been chosen for their genuine caring attitude, courtesy, and helpfulness. There are small touches throughout the store that show it was designed with convenience in mind. Since it's new, the store is bright and spotless.

Will there be newer stores to give Harris Teeter some competition of their own? Of course. But I see that as a plus. The threat of competition from Harris Teeter spurred Giant to make changes that they needed to make anyway. With a Wegman's on the horizon, maybe Harris Teeter will try harder, too.

Whether it's groceries or real estate or writing, having competitors can inspire us to do more and better. True, it can also lead people to take the low road and try short cuts that are ultimately self-defeating. But for longevity, I think having good competition makes everyone in the game better.

The following is the market report for Columbia 21046 zip code, Maryland in the last 30 days of activity as of June 17^th, 2008

Total Active Resale Properties: 109

Number of Active Detached homes: 37

New listings in the past 30 days: 31

Total properties under contract: 19

Properties sold in the past 30 days: 19

Average sold price: $334,941

Low Sale Price: $227,100

High Sale Price: $499,900

Average Days on Market: 105

If your interested in buying a home in Columbia, Maryland, please contact The Mcintire Team of Long & Foster Real Estate.

Ellie McIntire

The McIntire Team

410-480-3398

410-750-8781(FX)

443-418-7668(cell)

E-mail: Ellie@LNF.com

http://www.elliesteam.com/

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