Maryland home prices rise, supply remains constrained

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Statewide home prices increased for the seventh straight month, jumping 4.2 percent from the previous August, according to Maryland Realtors.

But a lack of supply and pending interest rate hikes remain concerns. Active inventory continued to decline statewide, off by 9 percent from last year.

“The 2.8 months of available inventory is impacting everyone’s ability to buy or sell. We expect to see another increase in interest rates at least once, if not twice before the years’ end,” Maryland Realtors President Boyd Campbell said in a statement.

Median sale price in the Baltimore metro area reached $280,000 last month, according to data from MarketStats by ShowingTime based on listing activity from Bright MLS. That’s the region’s highest median price for August in a decade.

Median home sale price in Montgomery County reached $442,259 in August, which was a 2.9 percent increase year over year. Prices in Prince George’s County soared to $294,950 last month. That’s a 7.3 percent increase from the year prior.

Howard County led the way in terms of median sale price in the Baltimore metro. The suburban jurisdiction posted a median home price of $440,000 in August, which is a 7.3 percent increase from the same time in 2017.

Baltimore had the steepest increase in median price in terms of percent from the year before. Home prices in the city were up 22.5 percent from last August. The median sale price of $158,000, however, remained the lowest among Maryland’s metro jurisdictions.

Carroll County was the only jurisdiction where median home price stayed flat year over year. Median home prices in Harford County nearly stayed level increasing by .2 percent from last year.

Montgomery County experienced the highest sales volume in the state with 1,213 sales last month. Prince George’s County placed third with 976 sales in August. The number of sales in Montgomery County increased by 2.5 percent compared to last year, while the number of home sales in Prince George’s County fell by nearly 6 percent.

Baltimore County was the top performer in terms of sales volume in its containing metro area. Last month there were 1,039 sales in the jurisdiction. It was followed by 905 sales in Anne Arundel County and 837 in Baltimore.

But Baltimore County’s sales volume decreased by 1.9 percent from last year and Baltimore’s sales number stayed flat. Volume was up in Anne Arundel County by 7.6 percent.

Inventory in the Baltimore metro area was down  3.2 percent overall. Harford County experienced the steepest decline in the region with supply dropping more than 9 percent from last year.

Baltimore, with a 2.4 percent bump, and Prince George’s County, with 8.3 percent rise, were the only jurisdictions where inventory increased from 2017.