There was a mix of good and bad news for Bowie MD real estate last month, as I look at the November statistics published by MRIS.  These were my questions:  How many homes sold?  What happened to prices? How long did it take for homes to sell? And, for all of the above, how did November 2009 compare with November 2008?

UNITS SOLD:

20715 - UP a whopping 142.86%

20716 - DOWN 50%

20720 - UP 53.33%

SOLD PRICES:

20715 - Average sold price DOWN 14.08% to $277,506.  Median sold price DOWN 11.4% to $279,000

20716 - Average sold price DOWN less than 1% to $233,738. Median sold price DOWN 13.25% to $212,500

20720 - Average sold price DOWN 13.10% to $308,784. Median sold price DOWN 12.32% to $313,000

DAYS ON MARKET:

20715 - DOWN over 42% to 89 days

20716 - DOWN 58.68% to 110 days

20720 - DOWN almost 46% to 98 days.

The short answer:  Yes, Bowie MD real estate prices are still dropping.

But overall, I think we can conclude that the Bowie real estate market in November was MUCH better than we've seen for most of 2009.  I wouldn't chill the champagne just yet, however, because we know that the first-time homebuyer tax credit is the primary factor behind any improvement in real estate sales.  After that expires, we'll know whether this is temporary or the beginning of a good thing for real estate in Bowie, MD.