June prices hit highest level since 2007 in the Baltimore Metro area

Sales at decade high; Inventories decline for tenth month in a row, days-on-market at lowest level in 10 years

Rockville, MD – (July 13, 2016) – The following analysis of the Baltimore Metro Area housing market has been prepared by Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D. of MarketStats by ShowingTime and is based on June MRIS housing data.

Click here to view PDF version of this report

OVERVIEW

• The Baltimore Metro area median sales price of $275,000 was up 5.8% or $15,100 from last year and up 5.0% or $13,000 from last month, recording the highest June sales price since 2007.   
• Sales volume across the Baltimore Metro area was more than $1.36 billion, up 16.7% from last year and up 21.9% from last month.
• June closed sales of 4,303 were up 11.1% year-over-year, the 23^rd consecutive month of increases and the highest monthly level in a decade.
• There were 4,260 new pending contracts at the end of June, up 4.7% from last year’s 4,067 and making this the highest June level of new pending sales in a decade.
• The number of new listings compared to last year increased by 5.8% to 5,810, the highest June level since 2007.
• The number of active listings declined by 9.5% to 12,699, the tenth month in a row of declining year-over-year inventories. 
• The average percentage of original list price received at sale in June was 96.1%.
• The median days-on-market for June 2016 was 22 days, down from 28 last year and 26 days last month, and the lowest days-on-market in a decade.

• The overall regional median sales price for June 2016 of $275,000 is up 5.8% or $15,100 from last year and up 5.0% or $13,000 from last month. Year-over-year condo prices were up 5.3% to $210,000, single-family detached prices were up 4.8% to $340,500 and townhome prices were up 3.3% to $206,500.
• Prices are above the 5-year average of $263,130 and the 10-year average of $261,105.
• June prices are 16.8% above the 2011 bottom of $235,500, but 5.1% below the peak of $289,900 seen in 2007.
• Harford County saw the highest year-over-year appreciation at 8.3% to $259,900.  Baltimore City remains the most affordable locale with a median sales price of $154,950, a 6.9% increase over last year.  Howard County continues to be the most expensive area in the region, with a June median sales price of $419,800, a 0.1% decrease compared to last year. 
• For the January-June year-to-date, the overall median sales price of $248,940 is 4.6% higher than the same period last year.

• June 2016 sales volume of 4,303 was up 11.1% compared to last year, and up 15.8% compared to last month.  Single-family detached sales of 2,444 were up 11.6%, townhome sales of 1,414 were up 10.6%, and condo sales of 445 were up 9.9%. 
• Sales are well above the 5-year average of 3,393 and the 10-year average of 3,072.
• Sales were 81.7% higher than the 2011 low of 2,368.
• All jurisdictions saw gains in the number of June sales except for Carroll County, which saw a slight 0.7% decrease to 279.  The largest gain was in Harford County, with a 15% increase to 415.  Baltimore County saw the smallest gain, with a 10.1% increase over last year to 1,151.
• Across the entire metro area, total closed sales of 19,084 for the period January-June were up 14.2% compared to last year.  All jurisdictions show increases in year-to-date sales.

• June 2016 pending sales saw a year-over-year increase of 4.7% to 4,260.  The number of pending contracts for townhomes rose 15.4% to 1,519, condos rose 2.6% to 437, and single-family detached dipped 0.9% to 2,304.
• Pending contracts are above the 5-year average of 3,578 and the 10-year average of 2,973.
• The number of new pending contracts in June surpassed last year’s high of 4,067 by 4.7%.  It was 115.5% more than the 10-year market low of 1,977 seen in 2010.
• Harford County (-8.1% to 398) and Baltimore County (-4.1% to 1,127) saw decreases in new pending contracts, while all other jurisdictions in the region showed increases.  Carroll County had the largest year-over-year gain at 14.9% to 286.

• There were 5,810 total new listings added in June in the Baltimore Metro area, a 5.8% increase compared to last June, and a 0.9% increase compared to last month.  The number of new townhome listings increased by 10.3% to 2,071, while condo listings increased 5.0% to 543 and the number of new single-family detached listings increased by 3.1% to 3,196.
• New listings are above both the 5- and 10-year averages of 4,910 and 4,882, respectively.
• The number of new listings in June was up 53.5% compared to the market low of 3,786 in 2012, but was 5.3% below the 2007 high of 6,137.
• All jurisdictions except Carroll County (-1.1% to 355) saw increases in the number of new listings, with the largest percentage increase of 8.5% in Anne Arundel County to 1,273.

• Year-over-year active inventories dropped by 9.5% to 12,699, the tenth consecutive month of declining year-over-year inventory levels.  All property types were down, with townhomes down 10.8% to 4,037, single-family detached down 9.4% to 7,460 and condos down 5.1% to 1,202.
• Inventories are slightly below the 5-year average of 12,845, but well below the 10-year average of 15,613.
• June inventories are 36.9% below the decade high of 20,137 seen in June of 2008, but are 13.5% above the 2013 trough of 11,192.
• All jurisdictions in the region continue to show declines in active inventories, with the largest percentage decline of 14.0% in Harford County to 1,298 and the smallest in Baltimore City at 5.8% to 3,299.

• The average sales price to original listing price ratio (SP to OLP ratio) for June was 96.1%, the highest June in a decade and up from last year’s 95.2% and last month’s 95.5%.
• The June average SP to OLP ratio of 96.1% is above the 5 and 10-year averages of 94.9% and 93.6%, respectively.
• Over the last decade, the lowest June SP to OLP of 89.6% was recorded in 2011.
• Homes in Howard County sold at 98.3% of their original listing price in June, the highest in the region, and above last year’s 97.1%.
• The largest gap between original listing price and sales price was in Baltimore City, where it was 94.1%, down from last year’s 94.2%.

• The median days-on-market (DOM) in June in the Baltimore Metro region was 22 days, a decrease of six days compared to the median DOM of 28 last year.  Last month it was 26 days.
• This month, single-family detached and townhomes both had a median DOM of 22, while condos have a median DOM of 31.
• June’s median DOM of 22 is below the 5-year average of 28 and the 10-year average of 41.
• The median DOM was one day less than the prior lowest median DOM of 23 days seen in June 2013, but was 42 days less than the peak DOM of 64 days in June 2008 and 2009.
• For January-June, median DOM is 39 days, down from 45 days last year.
• Homes in Howard County sell fastest, with a median DOM of 14, down from 18 days last year, while Baltimore City has the highest median DOM of 27 days compared to 33 days last year.

About the Baltimore Metro Housing Market Update

The Baltimore Metro Area Housing Market Update provides unique insights into the state of the current housing market by measuring the number of new pending sales, trends by home characteristics, and key indicators through the most recent month compiled directly from Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data in RBI’s proprietary database. The Baltimore Metro Area housing market includes the City of Baltimore, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County and Howard County in Maryland.  Data provided by MarketStats by ShowingTime, based on listing activity from MRIS.

About MRIS

MRIS is a leading provider of real estate information technology and one of the nation’s leading multiple listing services (MLS), facilitating nearly $51 billion in system wide sales in 2015. The company supports over 45,000 real estate professionals in the Mid-Atlantic region, including Maryland, Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C. and parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia. MRIS provides its customers with a portfolio of best-in-class desktop, mobile and cloud-based technologies to improve the real estate transaction process for both real estate professionals and homebuyers and sellers. For more information, please visit MRIS.com or MRIShomes.com to search for thousands of available homes in the Mid-Atlantic region.

About Elliot Eisenberg

Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D. is the Chief Economist of GraphsandLaughs, LLC, a firm specializing in economic consulting and data analysis.  He is a frequent speaker on topics including: economic forecasts, economic impact of industries such as homebuilding and tourism, consequences of government regulation, economic development and other current economic issues. Dr. Eisenberg earned a B.A. in economics with first class honors from McGill University in Montreal, as well as a Masters and Ph.D. in public administration from Syracuse University. Eisenberg was formerly a Senior Economist with the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C.   He is a regularly featured guest on cable news programs, talk and public radio, writes a syndicated column and authors a daily 70 word commentary on the economy that is available at www.econ70.com