Pasadena, MD

Market Statistics for Pasadena, MD in April 2009:

Number of Homes Sold - 49

Average Sold Price - $279,263

Median Sold Price - $260,000

Average Days on the Market - 118

Average Sale Price as a percentage of Average List Price - 90.93%.

Source: Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc (MRIS)

I'm not a big fan of Average and Median Sold Price Numbers. Many variables can skew the data. A large sale ($1-$2 Million Dollars) can raise the average sold price but not be characteristic of what's going on throughout the entire market. In April, 49 homes sold. 38 of those homes sold between $200,000 to $399,999 range.

We know that the market has significantly slowed down but it bears repeating with the help of numbers. As you can see, it took an average of 118 days to sell these 49 homes in Pasadena, MD. 29 homes sold in less than 120 days on the market and 20 sold with more than 120 days on the market. The main theme I want to say here is that homes are still selling! No matter how "bad" the media or others say the housing market is houses will sell. It may take close to 120 days in Pasadena, MD to sell them, but houses are selling.

So what's the 90.93% mean? Well, it means that a house, in April 2009 in Pasadena, MD, sold for 90.93% of the original asking price. In other words, if a house is listed for $100,000 it sold for $90,930 in April. It's called a contract sales price. It does NOT take into account factors such as closing costs or closing help (if any).

All this adds up to the simple fact that we all know....it's a buyer's market. If you're a seller, you need to be prepared to understand that you may not receive the full price you're looking for and you may need to entice buyers with incentives. If you're a buyer, you're looking at great deals with great interest rates.

One last thing to mention - we get it. Michelle and I understand that there are sellers who have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into their home and we want to help them, realistically, get all they can for the price of their home. If you're a buyer, we understand that you're sitting and waiting for the bottom of the market to hit before you buy. Question is, when will you know when the market bottoms out? Answer is, when the market makes a comeback and it's too late for great deals!

Never forget that freedom is not free. There are many men and women who are sacrificing for us at this very moment. Some have made the ultimate sacrifice, while others are recovering from injuries sustained fighting overseas. Here's one way you can help these heroes: http://www.operationhomefront.net. Thank you to all the men and women at Fort Meade, The Naval Academy, Andrews Air Force Base, and everywhere around the globe for your patriotism and sacrifice.

Rich is a licensed assistant to Michelle Bowman of Keller Williams Select Realtors in Severna Park, Maryland. To learn more about Michelle Bowman, including contact information, please visit her website at www.michellebowman.com.

Now that we have the first quarter statistics for the Pasadena, MD market, let's look at some of the revealing and not so revealing numbers.

A total of 101 homes have sold in the Pasadena area. It has taken anywhere between 3 - 5 months to sell. The average price is a number that can be greatly skewed by the sale of a $1 million dollar home, so we'll leave that statistic alone. The Average Sale Price as a percentage of Average List Price over the 3 month period ranges from 80% - 92%. It's called a contract sales price. It does NOT take into account factors such as closing costs or closing help (if any). In other words, sellers should expect to get between 80% - 92% of their asking price. A most compelling statistic in the Pasadena, MD market is the increase in number of active listings that have come on the market in the $600,000 - $699,999 range. At the beginning of the year, there were 445 active listings in Pasadena. At the end of March, there were 465 active listings. That's an increase of 20 active listings for the year. Consequently, there were 22 active listings between $600,000 and $699,999. At the end of March, there were 34. That's an increase of 12 active listings in that price range. Doing the math, 60% of the increased active listings that have gone on the market in Pasadena, MD are priced between $600,000 - $699,999. Equally as curious is the percentage of active listings that range between $200,000 and $399,999. At the end of March, there were 253 active listings in that price range from a total of 465 active listings. Another way to say this is that 54% of the active listings in Pasadena fall between $200,000 - $399,999.

If you're a first time home buyer you should take a serious look at the numbers here. The interest rates for loans are outstanding, the first time buyers credit is out there, and there has been an influx of active listings in a great price range.

Source: Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc (MRIS)

Never forget that freedom is not free. There are many men and women who are sacrificing for us at this very moment. Some have made the ultimate sacrifice, while others are recovering from injuries sustained fighting overseas. Here's one way you can help these heroes: http://www.anysoldier.com. Thank you to all the men and women at Fort Meade, The Naval Academy, Andrews Air Force Base, and everywhere around the globe for your patriotism and sacrifice.

Rich is a licensed assistant to Michelle Bowman of Keller Williams Select Realtors in Severna Park, Maryland. To learn more about Michelle Bowman, including contact information, please visit her website at www.michellebowman.com.

Market Statistics for Pasadena, MD in March 2009:

Number of Homes Sold - 51

Average Sold Price - $282,073

Median Sold Price - $265,000

Average Days on the Market - 152

Average Sale Price as a percentage of Average List Price - 88.42%.

Source: Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc (MRIS)

I'm not a big fan of Average and Median Sold Price Numbers. Many variables can skew the data. A large sale ($1-$2 Million Dollars) can raise the average sold price but not be characteristic of what's going on throughout the entire market. In March, 51 homes sold. 41 of those homes sold between $150,000 to $399,999 range.

We know that the market has significantly slowed down but it bears repeating with the help of numbers. As you can see, it took an average of 152 days to sell these 51 homes in Pasadena, MD. 27 homes sold in less than 120 days on the market and 27 sold with more than 120 days on the market. The main theme I want to say here is that homes are still selling! No matter how "bad" the media or others say the housing market is houses will sell. It may take close to 150 days in Pasadena, MD to sell them, but houses are selling.

So what's the 88.42% mean? Well, it means that a house, in March 2009 in Pasadena, MD, sold for 88.42% of the original asking price. In other words, if a house is listed for $100,000 it sold for $88,420 in March. It's called a contract sales price. It does NOT take into account factors such as closing costs or closing help (if any).

All this adds up to the simple fact that we all know....it's a buyer's market. If you're a seller, you need to be prepared to understand that you may not receive the full price you're looking for and you may need to entice buyers with incentives. If you're a buyer, you're looking at great deals with great interest rates.

One last thing to mention - we get it. Michelle and I understand that there are sellers who have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into their home and we want to help them, realistically, get all they can for the price of their home. If you're a buyer, we understand that you're sitting and waiting for the bottom of the market to hit before you buy. Question is, when will you know when the market bottoms out? Answer is, when the market makes a comeback and it's too late for great deals!

Never forget that freedom is not free. There are many men and women who are sacrificing for us at this very moment. Some have made the ultimate sacrifice, while others are recovering from injuries sustained fighting overseas. Here's one way you can help these heroes: http://www.anysoldier.com. Thank you to all the men and women at Fort Meade, The Naval Academy, Andrews Air Force Base, and everywhere around the globe for your patriotism and sacrifice.

Rich is a licensed assistant to Michelle Bowman of Keller Williams Select Realtors in Severna Park, Maryland. To learn more about Michelle Bowman, including contact information, please visit her website at www.michellebowman.com.

"If you view all the things that happen to you, both good and bad, as opportunities, then you operate out of a higher level of consciousness." Les Brown

What a great quote! Seems so fitting, especially now during the current housing market, that everyone from potential home buyers/sellers to real estate agents has opportunities RIGHT NOW! It's tough to help people understand, when you add all the negative media out there, that opportunity is sitting right there in front of you and you are letting others sway your decisions.

During the "boom" everyone seen opportunities to buy and sell homes. Sellers seen it as an opportunity to sell at a higher price and buyers seen it as an opportunity to upgrade from their existing home.

Now, people are afraid to buy and sell. Consider the following as a seller - you sell your house at a price that is going to be lower than what you could have received a few years ago, but do you see the opportunity to buy another house at a price that's lower than what you would have paid a few years ago?

Buyers - With interest rates as low as they are, do you think that they will stay that way forever? Is there a chance, in the future, that interest rates will go up?

Everyday, opportunity stares us right in the face....take the time to realize your opportunities at a "higher level of consciousness!"

"It's better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared." Young Whitney, Jr.

From the Desk of Rich Shull...........

Market Statistics for Pasadena, MD in February 2009:

Number of Homes Sold - 23

Average Sold Price - $322,110

Median Sold Price - $270,000

Average Days on the Market - 150

Average Sale Price as a percentage of Average List Price - 81.05%.

Source: Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc (MRIS)

I'm not a big fan of Average and Median Sold Price Numbers. Many variables can skew this data. A large sale ($1-$2 Million Dollars) can raise the average sold price but not be characteristic of what's going on throughout the entire market. In February, the bulk of the homes sold in Pasadena, MD (17 homes) fell between the price ranges of $150,000 and $349,999.

We know that the market has significantly slowed down but it bares repeating with the help of numbers. As you can see, it took an average of 150 days to sell these 23 homes in Pasadena, MD. 13 homes sold in less than 120 days while 10 homes took over 120 days to sell. The main theme I want to say here is that homes are still selling! No matter how "bad" the media or others say the housing market is, houses will sell. It may take close to 150 days in Pasadena, MD to sell them, but houses are selling.

So what's the 81.05% mean? Well, it means that a house, in February 2009 in Pasadena, MD, sold for 81.05% of the original asking price. In other words, if a house is listed for $100,000 it sold for $81,050 in February. It's called a contract sales price. It does NOT take into account factors such as closing costs or closing help (if any).

All this adds up to the simple fact that we all know....it's a buyer's market. If you're a seller, you need to be prepared to understand that you may not receive the full price you're looking for and you may need to entice buyers with incentives. If you're a buyer, you're looking at great deals with great interest rates.

One last thing to mention - we get it. Michelle and I understand that there are sellers who have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into their home and we want to help them, realistically, get all they can for the price of their home. If you're a buyer, we understand that you're sitting and waiting for the bottom of the market to hit before you buy. Question is, when will you know when the market bottoms out? Answer is, when the market makes a comeback and it's too late for great deals!

Never forget that freedom is not free. There are many men and women who are sacrificing for us at this very moment. Some have made the ultimate sacrifice, while others are recovering from injuries sustained fighting overseas. Here's one way you can help these heroes: http://www.anysoldier.com. Thank you to all the men and women at Fort Meade, The Naval Academy, Andrews Air Force Base, and everywhere around the globe for your patriotism and sacrifice.

Rich is a licensed assistant to Michelle Bowman of Keller Williams Select Realtors in Severna Park, Maryland. To learn more about Michelle Bowman, including contact information, please visit her website at www.michellebowman.com.