Maryland folks, this post is for you. And I hope you appreciated the alliteration in my title.
Prices and Inventory
The average sales price is up again. It is $484,283, up 11.4% ($434,847 in 2021). The median sales price is also up, $405,000, up 9.5% ($370,000 in 2021).
In addition to these higher prices, inventory dropped 25.3% from last year.
The good news – inventory has been increasing incrementally since February. And by incrementally I mean 1/10 of a month each month. The bad news – inventory in May was 0.9 months.
Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year rate has jumped to 5.23%, up from 5.09% last week. In May 2021, the average rate was 2.96%. Rates are expected to increase throughout 2022, which means if you’re looking to buy a home, doing so sooner rather than later can assure the best possible rate,”
said Craig Wolf, 2022 President of Maryland Realtors.
What are we seeing?
We are still seeing competition, pre-inspections, and escalation clauses. That being said, we are also beginning to see houses that are not getting multiple offers and even the beginnings of price reductions from people who are overzealous in their pricing strategy. There are good homes in this category for those that are willing to forgo the market’s “favorites.”
Where are we headed?
As we get closer to August and summer vacations, I expect we will see our normal end of the summer slow down. This is a good time for buyers who are sick of the competition to write strong offers, but maybe keep a contingency or two.
Source: Maryland Association of Realtors, “Maryland’s May 2022 Housing Statistics Reveals Slight Easing of Inventory Amidst Rising Prices and Fewer Homes Sold,” June 13, 2022.
