There's a little bit of Deja Vu, with this post, my 200th on ActiveRain. My very first post was Crofton Maryland - Market Report for February 2007. A few days later, a consumer who saw that post called to list her Crofton home with me. Needless to say, that's all it took to convince me that ActiveRain is an excellent vehicle for communicating with consumers.
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As I looked at the statistics released this week by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (MRIS) for Crofton, one thing jumped out and grabbed me: The number of units sold in November 2007, compared to November 2006, was down 54%. That may be the most dramatic drop we have seen all year, to the lowest point of 2007. This is very disappointing after an increase in units sold last month, which suggested there might be a turn-around occurring.
In spite of this bleak picture, Crofton home sellers were asking 1.54% more for their homes in November of this year over 2006. Perhaps they experienced a false sense of optimism, based on last month's improvement in units sold.
There was little justification for optimism, however. While the drop in median sold price was not quite so dramatic in Crofton as the number of units sold, it was significant - 5.26%, to be exact. This continues a 3-month trend, after a slight increase in August:
On a brighter note, days on market were down for Crofton homes from this time last year, for the third consecutive month, and down significantly from the beginning of this year:
155 homes were on the market for sale in Crofton during November, while just 21 homes sold. At this rate, it will take over seven months for the existing inventory of homes to sell. Other numbers I consider, when evaluating the Crofton real estate market, are the number of new listings (32) and how many homes went under contract (19) during a single month. As long as the listing inventory grows at a faster rate than it is selling, homesellers must be particularly aggressive to find and capture a buyer. (Seven Ways to Compete Against "Desperate Homesellers")
That's a lot of information, so you may be wondering what a reasonable conclusion should be for Crofton homeowners who are contemplating a home sale. In a nutshell, I would simply say that your home definitely won't sell if you don't put it on the market, so the first step would be to list it with an experienced real estate agent who knows Crofton well - one who has survived previous buyers' markets and knows how to market homes. (Yes, There Is A Buyer for Every House)
While it is important to be realistic about today's market, there is no point in being paralyzed by it! When you sell your current home, you will be in an excellent position to take advantage of the buyer's market for your next home. So, let's get started!
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Find a Home and learn about Real Estate Market Conditions in Crofton and Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Check out Today's Rates, use the free Mortgage Calculator, and watch a brief video about the Power of RE/MAX. These consumer-friendly real estate tools are provided by Margaret Woda for you to use at your own pace.
When you're ready to go from "just browsing" to "let's get serious", contact Margaret online or call her at RE/MAX Vision in Crofton Maryland. 410-451-1900
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