By AFRO Staff
(February 12, 2009) - Home prices in the Baltimore area took the largest year-to-year drop in almost a decade in January, according to statistics released by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. (MRISI), a Rockville-based real estate listing company. Home sales fell more than 10 percent with the credit crunch and joblessness driving the disturbing trends.
The average sales price in the city and five surrounding counties dropped to $265,768 last month, the MRISI’ report said, and sales plunged by more than 21 percent to just over 1,000 homes sold during the month.
Average sales prices in the area declined during most of 2008, although only years before in 2004 and 2005, the area saw double-digit increases in the housing market.
In an interview with the {Baltimore Sun,} Anirban Basu, chief executive of the Baltimore economic consulting firm Sage Policy Group, said, “even though sellers are cutting prices, it is not enough to allow the market to reach bottom or equilibrium. As much as prices have been slashed, sales volume is down. That tells us prices are going to fall further in the months ahead. We are very much in the middle of this.”