Existing Homes

The median sales price of an existing home in the Baltimore area in the fourth quarter of 1998 fell below the national average and failed to keep pace with the national inflation rate, according to statistics released by the National Association of Realtors.Existing homes in the Baltimore area had a median price in the fourth quarter of $119,400 compared with $131,000 nationwide. The median is the midpoint, with half the homes selling for more and half for less.Existing-home median prices in the area rose from $117,300 in the fourth quarter of 1997 -- an increase of 1.8 percent.

Home sales in the Baltimore metropolitan area are going through the roof.Sales of existing homes for the region in July rose 20.9 percent over the comparable period last year as 3,509 homes changed hands -- the highest one-month total in more than three years."

When newlyweds Karen and Kevin Carbough decided to buy a home three years ago, they started their search in the typical way -- with a Realtor and a wish list that included a big back yard, an open floor plan and a good school district.Their house-hunting excursions began with existing homes in Howard and Carroll counties. It ended with a custom-built Colonial in Mount Airy, tucked just inside the Frederick County line."Many of the existing homes had problems," said Karen Carbough, 31. "Some had structural defects, others included decorating ideas I didn't like.

Sales of existing homes reached record levels in the second quarter of this year, the National Association of Realtors reports.Total sales increased in 39 states, including Maryland, compared with sales in the second quarter of last year. Ten states and Washington had declines from the year-earlier period. Montana reported no change.The seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing single-family, apartment and cooperative home sales was up 7.8 percent, to 5.97 million from 5.54 million this time last year, setting the highest annual pace since NAR started tracking existing home sales in 1981.

New-home sales in the Baltimore metropolitan area are on the slide. It seems so improbable in such a economically heady time. But if you're looking for answers it might be wise to twist a Clintonesque slogan: It's not the economy, stupid. It's the inventory.Or, maybe, it's best to let Karen Meskill, who with her husband, Gene, sold their Crofton home a little more than a year ago, explain the phenomenon."We had a note on our door from a real estate agent, saying someone was interested in buying a home in [our]

As sales of existing homes continue to rise, the same can be said for median home prices across the country.According to second-quarter statistics released last week by the National Association of Realtors, the median price for an existing home was $131,000, up 6 percent from the second quarter for 1997.The median is the midpoint in the price range. Half the homes sell for more, half for less.The metropolitan area with the highest median price was San Francisco, at $329,400.Regionally, the Midwest recorded the largest increase in median home prices in the second quarter; they rose 7.9 percent, to $114,000.

The vigorous market for existing-home sales apparently isn't showing any signs of slowing, causing the experts at the National Association of Realtors to change their forecast.NAR last week revised its estimate for this year's sales, saying it expects an increase of 3.2 percent to a total of 4.35 million units, which would be a record."Over the last year we have been making upward revisions in our forecast to the point where we now expect to set another record this year," said Fred Flick, vice president of economics and research for NAR.After two straight record-setting years, Flick expected a cool down this year.

Rising mortgage interest rates continued to batter the housing market in metropolitan Baltimore last month, as sales of existing homes took a 10 percent dive for the second consecutive month.The number of homes in the sales pipeline also fell last month as contracts signed plunged 26 percent, indicating the downturn would likely continue for months. Sales contracts, which typically take two months to close, were down 27 percent in September."Fall is the second-busiest time of the year, and most agents and brokers look forward to it, but it's not happening now the way it normally is," said Henry A. Strohminger, an agent with Prudential Preferred Properties.

New-home sales in the Baltimore area rose 14 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, bolstering the claims of housing specialists that a modest rebound in the local market may be under way."What we're seeing is the first shot at true recovery, and hopefully the first quarter will see sales really start to improve even more," said Bob Lefenfeld, vice president of the Legg Mason Realty Group Inc., which tracks the regional housing market for builders, developers and financial institutions.

The picture for home sales in the Baltimore area was mixed in April, according to statistics released by the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors yesterday.Compared with the same month last year, home sales rose 16 percent, but the number of pending sales declined 8 percent, the trade group reported.The same trends were evident when April statistics were compared with those of March this year.The board's executive vice president, Fletcher Hall, discounted the importance of the drop in pending sales in April.

Sales of existing homes posted an unexpected increase last month as consumers snapped up bargain-basement foreclosures in California and Florida, closing out the worst year for the U.S. real estate market in more than a decade. Analysts, however, cautioned that prices are likely to keep falling through this year, and they said the outlook for home sales is highly uncertain, despite a boost from low mortgage rates. "I don't think we're close to a bottom yet," said Michelle Meyer, a Barclays Capital economist who sees nationwide prices falling another 15 percent this year.

By the time the dust settles, one thing will be clear: 2008 will be a year most homesellers, homeowners and lenders will want to forget. At the end of 2006, home prices had dropped 3.5 percent. At the end of 2007, home prices dipped again. As we move into 2009, home prices in 2008 had dropped by double-digits in parts of the country, according to the National Association of Realtors. If that weren't bad enough, November sales of existing homes plummeted 8.6 percent, to an annualized figure of about 4.5 million.

The nation's financial meltdown dealt a setback to a housing market that was showing glimmers of recovery in Maryland, and local builders said yesterday that they are bracing for another tough year. During a real estate and construction forecast conference, area builders said they are struggling through a period of slow sales and limited financing that has forced housing companies to lay off workers, put projects on hold or rethink the type of homes they can sell. The housing slowdown began about two years ago. Experts at the annual conference in Woodlawn, sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Maryland, said the bloated inventory of new and existing homes was starting to come into balance as new housing starts dropped sharply this year.

WASHINGTON -- Factory orders fell less than predicted in May, reinforcing forecasts that manufacturing will help overcome the housing slump. Orders placed with U.S. factories fell 0.5 percent after a 0.5 percent gain in April, the Commerce Department reported. The National Association of Realtors said separately that Americans signed fewer contracts to buy previously owned homes, with its index unexpectedly dropping to a five-year low. Demand for computers, electronics and fuel helped make up for a decline in aircraft bookings in May, the Commerce Department reported.

Sales of existing homes in the United States unexpectedly surged in February after falling for five months in a row, the National Association of Realtors reported yesterday, reflecting a lift related to unseasonably warm weather and signaling that the housing market is healthier than some experts had suggested. Sales climbed 5.2 percent last month, to an annual pace of 6.91 million homes, after falling 8.9 percent in the previous five months. The nationwide median price -- the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less -- climbed 10.6 percent from a year earlier, to $209,000.

WASHINGTON -- Sales of existing homes fell to an eight-month low in November, leaving the number of houses on the market at the highest since 1986 and suggesting one pillar of the U.S. economy will weaken next year. Home sales dropped 1.7 percent to a 6.97 million annual rate, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday in Washington. Mortgage rates are higher than a year ago, and the report showed the median price rose 13.2 percent since November 2004 to $215,000, making homes less affordable.

A county plan to impose an impact fee of up to $8,269 on each new home to pay for school construction will put a financial burden on a small portion of the population and make it more difficult for teachers and law enforcement officers to live in the county, housing industry officials say. "Under this proposed system, 18 percent of the population will be paying the $60 million cost of the new Patterson Mill school, said Don Sample, a partner in a...

WASHINGTON - U.S. sales of previously owned homes rose 2.7 percent to a record in November, making 2004 the best year ever for housing. Existing homes sold at a 6.94 million annual rate, up from a 6.76 million pace in October, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday. A record 6.14 million existing homes have been sold this year, surpassing the 6.1 million in 2003. Sales rose 6.5 percent in the West to an annual rate of 1.97 million, 1.8 percent in the South to 2.83 million, and 0.7 percent in the Midwest to 1.39 million.

Garwyn Oaks center sponsors workshop on buying a home The Garwyn Oaks Housing Resource Center will sponsor a free home-buying workshop this week. Real estate and mortgage professionals will provide information about selecting, qualifying for and purchasing a home. The workshop is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday at 2610 Garrison Blvd. Information and registration: 410-947-0084. Higher home sales, prices forecast if rates stay low The National Association of Realtors, the U.S. industry's largest trade group, raised forecasts for home sales and price gains this year and next on expectations that mortgage rates will remain near record lows.

The National Association of Realtors, the U.S. industry's largest trade group, increased its estimate of home sales for the eighth time this year, saying low mortgage rates and an improving economy will spur the housing market. Sales of existing homes probably will reach 6.45 million, higher than the 6.31 million the Washington group forecast a month ago. New-home sales will total 1.2 million, it said, up from its previous forecast of 1.16 million. That would make this year the best ever for both categories.