NEED TO KNOW - MORTGAGE INFORMATION

Home Owners:



Additional Information:

Maryland Real Estate Market: When will Home Values Return?

The problem with the Maryland real estate market, and home values in general, can be summed up with one word: foreclosures.

The state of Maryland, in fact, has one of the nation’s highest foreclosure rates, and it doesn’t look like it will get better any time soon. And ground zero for foreclosures? You don’t have to look any farther that Prince George County.

Foreclosure still an Issue

To put the foreclosure problem into perspective, consider that foreclosures accounted for nearly 35 percent of all the home sales in the first quarter in Prince George County, according to RealtyTrac. Prince George County saw 881 foreclosure filings during this time – well above the next highest county, Montgomery, which saw 704 filings.

Across the state, foreclosures accounted for a whopping 20 percent of all homes sales during the first quarter of 2010. Maryland ranked tenth in terms of foreclosure rates across the country in May.

State and Federal Incentives go into Effect

State officials created a Homeownership Preservation Task Force to begin working toward lowering the foreclosure rates and keeping homeowners in their homes, although the program is new so the effect has yet to be determined. Another state program, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, is also in place to help gobble up all the foreclosed properties by providing down payment assistance. A $10.8 million federal grant helped jump start this incentive. This program has worked with banks and sellers to help move 569 foreclosed homes so far this year.

This program has been a success for the state; after all, home values cannot expect to rise until the y start to make a dent in the large inventory of foreclosed properties on the market.

Signs of Stabilization

Home values in Maryland reached their peak during the first quarter of 2007 and are not expected to recover to their peak values until the third quarter of 2016. Ridding the market of foreclosed properties will be the biggest hurdle when speaking of home values.

There are signs of stabilization in the Maryland housing market, though. Consider that homes in the state are selling for 92 percent of their lising price and that the median prices in May rose 5 percent over April. However, overall, the median price for a home in Maryland is $199,000, nearly 12 percent lower than a year ago.

As a home owner in Maryland, foreclosures continue to weigh heavily on home values in Maryland. Your home will not likely return to peak value until the third quarter of 2016.

10 Largest Cities in Maryland