Charlestown	UPDATED: Tuesday, August 05, 2008
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Baltimore listed among top sellers’ markets

Posted on Friday, August 01, 2008

By Danielle Rexrode
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Although times are still tough for many cities on the real estate front, Baltimore recently made Yahoo’s Top Sellers’ Markets list, which some real estate experts say makes sense.

“Here in Maryland we certainly are not what the national news’ doom and gloom articles are talking about. We have a solid local economy, low unemployment, and a wide variety of job opportunities in the area,” says Realtor Penny Noval of Coldwell Banker, Timonium/Hunt Valley.

“We have government job opportunities from military bases to social security. We also have big companies like Proctor & Gamble and Black & Decker and a tremendous job base in hospitals and education. Plus, we’re close to Washington D.C., which funnels people coming and going, buying and selling, in our area.”

Realty reality
Other industry experts— like Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR)—predict home sales and prices throughout most of the country are also poised for improvement in this half of 2008.

“It’s important to keep things in context,” said Yun at the NAR’s Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo held in Washington, D.C. “While much of the media is focusing on the fact that the rate of foreclosures doubled this year from historic averages, the foreclosure rate has gone from 1% of all homeowners with mortgages to 2%. Foreclosures are being driven principally by subprime loans.”

Yun further explained that more than half of today’s foreclosures are concentrated in the subprime market: “The great majority of homeowners are making their mortgage payments on time. Now that the subprime market has dried up and loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration and those purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are making a comeback, the housing markets will strengthen and prices are likely to begin a steady uptick in the coming months.”

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Wise investment
Even though prices are off from a couple of years ago, for those who have owned their houses for at least five years, selling now will still generate large returns on investment. Those who have been living in their houses for 20 years or more—before the most recent boom started—will reap even larger returns.

“We see incoming residents selling [their houses] quickly, and they’re realizing significant profit over their initial investment,” says JoAnn Huebler, retirement counselor at Oak Crest, a retirement community in Parkville.

Reports from the U.S. Census Bureau and the NAR support her claims. Statistics show that median home values in Maryland have quadrupled in the past nearly 40 years. In 1970 the median purchase price in Maryland was $71,800. But today the median price is $299,900, which means these homeowners would see more than a 400% return on their investment.

Noval says most homeowners would be hard-pressed to find as good an investment as their home, but many don’t realize it: “What people need to focus on is not what their house may have sold for two years ago, but on what they paid 30 years ago and what they can get for it today. When they consider that, they’ll see that they’re still making a significant gain. Many people have doubled, tripled, or quadrupled their investment. What else could they have invested their money in and made that kind of profit? Plus, they had to have a roof over their head, so instead of paying rent they made a wonderful investment.”

Helping hand
Oak Crest and Charlestown in Catonsville assist potential residents in maximizing the profit on their homes and expediting a speedy sale through Erickson Realty & Moving Services. This program provides help with every aspect of the moving process, including consultative home visits; professional real estate advice; and marketing, staging, downsizing, packing, moving, and other services.

“Anyone who is moving to one of our communities is eligible to take advantage of this complimentary service,” says Charlestown Retirement Counselor Steffany Byers. “We’ll take care of every detail to ensure a fast, smooth, and worry-free transition into our communities.”

With little more than four months left in the calendar year, Yun remains cautiously optimistic about the housing market.

“There are many reasons for people to get into the housing market today, and very few reasons not to,” says Yun. “With the plentiful supply of homes for sale at affordable prices, interest rates at 40-year lows, and the strong track record of housing as a good long-term investment, conditions are ripe for buyers. Those are the facts, plain and simple.”