Prince George's County, MD Real Estate Market

Prince George's County, MD Real Estate Market

There are 4,638 active listings of homes for sale in Prince George's County MD.  625 (13%) of the homes for sale are lender owned foreclosures.  1,768 (38%) are short sale pre-foreclosures.  51% of the available properties are lender owned foreclosures or short sale pre-foreclosures.

Prince George's County MD Real Estate Market Statistics:  During May, there were 738 closed sales, down 29.63% from last year.    The average sold price was $172,594, down 17.71% from last year, with an average of 104 days on the market.  The median price was $158,500, down 17.71% from last year. Homes were selling for an average of 88.14% of the average original list price.

Yes, these are statistics for a troubled real estate market. What happened in the most affluent county in America with a majority African-American population?  Some think that that lenders aggressively targeted minorities with subprime mortgages with the resulting high foreclosure rate.  This one county now accounts for 25% of the foreclosures in Maryland and it is expected to get worse before it gets better.

The negative impact of foreclosures has created a very positive environment for real estate investors and home buyers as they take advantage of the housing bargains in Prince George's County.  The rental market is strong and investors are building their long term rental portfolios.  The low home prices are attracting buyers from higher priced areas in the Washington, DC metro market.  It is sad to see the volume of foreclosures and pre-foreclosures but it is also a time of great opportunity for home buyers.

Dolores and I enjoy visits to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania to see the thousands of flowers that are on display. We recommend it to you if you are in the area or if you plan to visit the area on vacation.  See the website for a full schedule of activities and exhibits.  www.longwoodgardens.org

Roy and Dolores Kelley visited Longwood Gardens on Saturday, April 30, 2011. This is one of our favorite travel destinations and a wonderful place for flower photographs. Canon PowerShot G11 camera. Photograph by Roy Kelley.