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April Real Estate Market Sales and Statistics for Annapolis and Anne Arundel County

By
Real Estate Sales Representative with Keller Williams

Do the Numbers Reveal an Upturn in the Annapolis Real Estate Market? Plus...Here's What the NAR (National Assn of Realtors) is Forecasting for the Second Half of 2008

Around the 10th of every month, the local MLS - ours is known as the Metropolitan Regional Information System - publishes real estate market sales statistics for the previous month.  Here are some notable statistics for April 2008 for Anne Arundel County:

Average Sold Price: $398,231 - a slight decrease from the April 2007 figure of $398,754.

Median Sold Price: $320,000 - a 7.25% decrease from the April 2007 figure of $345,000.

Total Units Sold: 420 homes, a 30% decrease over the April 2007 figure of 600.

Average Days on Market: 137, an increase of 28.04% over the April 2007 figure of 107 days.

Those numbers may not seem too encouraging, the total units sold does represent an increase over the 331 sold in February 2008 and the 418 sold in March 2008.

Annapolis Real Estate, By The Numbers

Let's take a closer look at what's happening in the Annapolis market, and break it down by price range, active listings, under contract, and sold in the last 30 days.

$250,000-$350,000 - Active: 184 - Contract: 35 - Sold last 30: 21

$350,000-$500,000 -Active: 227 - Contract: 48 - Sold last 30: 15

$500,000-$750,000 - Active: 209 - Contract: 33 - Sold last 30: 16

$750,000 - $1,000,000 - Active: 133 - Contract: 9 - Sold last 30: 5

$1,000,000 and up - Active: 167 - Contract: 16 - Sold last 30: 6

What Does it all Mean?

It depends on who you ask. Some would argue that the modest increase in total units sold in our county in April represents a typical seasonal uptick - nothing more. On the other hand, it could be part of what Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, sees this as the start of an improving housing market in the second half of 2008.

Yun says that the more evenly performing markets of the past few years - like Cincinnati, Milwaukee and Kansas City, MO - are likely to experience home price gains in the 20% to 30% range over the next five years. While Miami, Las Vegas and Phoenix could see prices go up as much as 50% in that period.  

Truth be told, the NAR's glass is frequently at least half full, but word on the street - what we're seeing and hearing from our colleagues - is that the Annapolis area market is coming to life. Yes, lenders are being very cautious - and we're seeing more and more second appraisals being ordered.

But homes ARE selling  - we've sold 4 in the last 8 weeks - and buyer interest is higher than it has been in quite some time. Part of this is pent up demand - buyers are getting tired of waiting and they're feeling that the bulk of any actual or anticipated price correction may have already occured. And sellers are getting real about list price and not acting like it's 2005 anymore. This combination of factors seems to be stirring the market.

(Shameless plug: Finally, remember this: it's not the luck of the draw that makes a home sell in this market. It takes preparation, market knowledge, a well-executed plan, and powerful marketing tools. That's where we can help, so do give us a call if you're thinking about selling your home. No pressure, no slick sales talk - just straight talk.)

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