MoCoRealEstate

Archive for August, 2009

Montgomery County Is Only 1 of 3 Places Where You Should Make a Home Purchase

August 31st, 2009 Categories: In General

If you are planning a home purchase in Seattle, zip 10005 (New York City) or Montgomery County, Maryland – go for it!  Don’t worry about the specific location or asking price.  These are fantastic places to buy a home so purchase with confidence.  Just do it!

What about home buyers in the remaining 99.5% of the U.S.?  Hmmm… it’s best to stay away.

If this sounds silly, it is.  But this is the advice recently given by Jim Cramer on The Today Show (Montgomery County gets referenced at minute 1.40).

Superficial, glossy guidance like this is a prime example of why home buyers and sellers are best served by turning off the TV before planning a transaction.  In Montgomery County, the health of a neighborhood’s market is directly related to its Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Bruce Lemieux | 4 Comments »

Regal North Potomac Colonial

August 29th, 2009 Categories: North Potomac

This brick-front colonial is just six years young and has a huge floor plan.  The open floorplan has what most buyers want today – great space in the family room opening to the kitchen.  This home backs to protected conservation area and is in like-new condition.

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Montgomery County Housing Inventory

August 20th, 2009 Categories: Market Updates

It’s time for the mid month look at Montgomery County’s housing inventory.  Our housing supply continues to shrink.  Total inventory is down 27% from January.  The total inventory of distress properties is down 30%.   Distress properties continue to make up 25% of available inventory — consistent with the last several months.  Here’s the cart:

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Do you have questions about the Montgomery County real estate market? Call us at 301-527-9079 or send an email for more info about buying, selling and living in Montgomery County, Maryland.

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North Potomac Pricing Trends

August 13th, 2009 Categories: North Potomac

Except for the highest price ranges, the real estate market in North Potomac is robust in all price points. Contracts over the last six months are up 30% compared to the same period last year.   Here’s an overview of activity for all price ranges: Read the rest of this entry »

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Gaithersburg Pricing Trends

August 13th, 2009 Categories: Gaithersburg

Contract activity over the last six months in Gaithersburg is up over 70% from last year.  Although entry level homes priced $200,000 and less make up most of the increase, activity has been up in all price ranges.  Here’s the overview of the contract activity by price range: Read the rest of this entry »

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Clarksburg and Damascus Pricing Trends

August 13th, 2009 Categories: Clarksburg

New construction is still underway at Clarksburg, so looking at resales won’t show a complete picture.  Looking at resales over the last six months in the Clarksburg area, contracts are up over 62% compared to 2008.   Here’s the stats for contracts by price range: Read the rest of this entry »

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Potomac Pricing Trends

August 11th, 2009 Categories: Potomac

Contracts in Potomac for the last six months are up a tepid 8% compared to the same time period in 2008.  This stat doesn’t tell the whole story, however.  For homes priced $1.1M and lower, contracts are up a dazzling 35%.  For homes priced over $1.1M, contracts are down 36%.  Here’s the breakdown by price range: Read the rest of this entry »

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Darnestown Pricing Trends

August 11th, 2009 Categories: Darnestown

The total number of contracts for the last six months is practically the same as the same period in 2008.  Like Potomac, activity for higher priced homes is down quite a bit.  Activity for homes priced $800,000 or lower is up 85%.  Here’s the breakdown of activity by price range: Read the rest of this entry »

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Germantown Pricing Trends

August 11th, 2009 Categories: Germantown

The number of contracts in Germantown over the last six months is up 40% compared to the same period last year.  All the action is for entry level homes.  Activity for homes priced $200,000 and less is up a staggering 370%.  Here’s the stats for all price ranges: Read the rest of this entry »

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Poolesville and Ag Reserve Pricing Trends

August 11th, 2009 Categories: Poolesville

Contracts in Poolesville and the Ag Reserve are up over 18% over the last six months compared to the same period last year.  Compared to other areas in Montgomery County, overall transaction volume is really low — there simply aren’t many homes out here in the country.  With so few sales, easy conclusions can’t be made from this comparison: Read the rest of this entry »

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Bethesda and Chevy Chase Pricing Trends

August 9th, 2009 Categories: Bethesda

Bethesda continues to prove it’s a rock solid real estate market in Montgomery County.  Compared to the previous six months in 2008, home prices have been pretty consistent in all price segments.  Transaction volume for only the priciest homes have been lower this year.  Overall, the number of contracts are up 11%.  Here’s a breakdown of the contracts by price range: Read the rest of this entry »

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Rockville Pricing Trends

August 9th, 2009 Categories: Rockville

Compared to the previous six months last year, sales in the Rockville area are smoking — up over 25%.  Affordability is driving the increase in sales.  Contracts for homes priced $300,000 or lower is up 170% from last year.  Most of these are distress sales — short sales and bank owned properties.  Activity for sales in higher price ranges has been generally lower.  Here’s the graph: Read the rest of this entry »

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Olney Pricing Trends

August 9th, 2009 Categories: Olney

Contracts are up 16% in the Olney area compared to the previous six months of 2008.  The chart below shows an overall downward shift in prices for the entire market.  Contracts over the last six months for homes priced under $300,000 are double 2008′s contracts.  Here’s the chart: Read the rest of this entry »

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Silver Spring Pricing Trends

August 9th, 2009 Categories: Silver Spring

Over the last six months, contracts in Silver Spring are up over 54% compared to last year.  With a ton of distress sales, contracts for homes priced $300,000 or less was nearly 200% of 2008′s activity.  Over 90% of the sales this year have been for homes listed $500,000 or less.  Here’s a breakdown of contract activity by price range: Read the rest of this entry »

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Montgomery County Real Estate at a Glance

August 6th, 2009 Categories: Market Updates

You’ve heard it a zillion times – real estate is local.  Another common nugget of real estate wisdom – “location, location, location”.  In Montgomery County, a home’s location and price range are the primary factors driving demand.  To cut to the chase and provide a simple overview of our market, I analyzed all contracts from February through the end of July and compared sales activity.  The results are summarized in the following chart:

Busiest Zip Codes in Montgomery County

Here’s the top 10 by the number of contracts ratified over the last six months.  Activity in these zip codes represents 53% of all contracts for Montgomery County. Read the rest of this entry »

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