The Price is Right Now
The Baltimore Sun’s real estate blog recently noted {http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/blog/2009/07/price_reductions_in_the_baltimore_area.html} that 25 percent of homes for sale nationwide have had their prices reduced since going on the market. If personal experience is any indication of reality, then this kind of pawn shop score is entirely normal. Both my grandmother’s condo and my father’s house are on the market right now with tickets trimmed to bleeding.
Baltimore itself is apparently on track with the national rate, though slightly slowed down from its own 30 percent proportion from last month. Does this mean things are finally getting better? Probably not, but if you’ve been waiting for the truly desperate prices to come out, then fire away. We can officially see the whites of their eyes now.
On average, prices in the Baltimore area were reduced by ten percent per home, or about $28,000 in our case. These numbers are a little misleading, however, as a much higher percentage of homes in the county are marked down, but the mark downs, where they occur in the city, tend to be at a higher percentage. Basically, it’s easier to find a deal of some kind in the suburbs, while the real deals, which are harder to pick out, are mostly within the city limits.
Of course, if you’re a homeowner, you may be feeling like the chubbiest guy in the Donner Party. Selling the place your babies grew their teeth in might be painful even if it wasn’t at a sliver of the price you planned for. But then, hanging onto the property and paying taxes on a laughably outdated value hurts a little, too. It might be worth getting a reassessment, or just being grateful for the Homestead Tax Credit.
One thing’s clear: if you’ve even thought about buying a house in Baltimore, then get right on it, but bring an extra hankie along and try to hide your wicked glee. What’s the best deal you’ve heard of lately?
Photo by flickr user pansonaut.
The Baltimore Sun’s real estate blog recently noted that 25 percent of homes for sale nationwide have had their prices reduced since going on the market. If personal experience is any indication of reality, then this kind of pawn shop score is entirely normal. Both my grandmother’s condo and my father’s house are on the market right now with tickets trimmed to bleeding.
Baltimore itself is apparently on track with the national rate, though slightly slowed down from its own 30 percent proportion from last month. Does this mean things are finally getting better? Probably not, but if you’ve been waiting for the truly desperate prices to come out, then fire away. We can officially see the whites of their eyes now.
On average, prices in the Baltimore area were reduced by ten percent per home, or about $28,000 in our case. These numbers are a little misleading, however, as a much higher percentage of homes in the county are marked down, but the mark downs, where they occur in the city, tend to be at a higher percentage. Basically, it’s easier to find a deal of some kind in the suburbs, while the real deals, which are harder to pick out, are mostly within the city limits.
Of course, if you’re a homeowner, you may be feeling like the chubbiest guy in the Donner Party. Selling the place your babies grew their teeth in might be painful even if it wasn’t at a sliver of the price you planned for. But then, hanging onto the property and paying taxes on a laughably outdated value hurts a little, too. It might be worth getting a reassessment, or just being grateful for the Homestead Tax Credit.
One thing’s clear: if you’ve even thought about buying a house in Baltimore, then get right on it, but bring an extra hankie along and try to hide your wicked glee. What’s the best deal you’ve heard of lately?
Posted in: Development News, Real Estate - Buying, Selling, Talking About It.
To be fair to those who are buying cheap houses in Baltimore (not me, I’m afraid. Our neighbors moved and we couldn’t afford to buy their house, which would have given us the Baltimore version of the Great American Dream: two connected row houses), every house bought reduces supply, which eventually will help us all.
But you know that right now the only ones who (try to) sell are those with no choice but to move, and no choice but to accept what’s offered.