Housing Market Sends Mixed Messages

The Baltimore Business Journal had two different articles that came out yesterday, one headline stated "Baltimore rents rise, home values drop" the other headline "Existing home sales rise 7.8%".  So, let me first say that the information for the both of these articles came from two different sources, the first headline about the rising rents came from Zillow and the second one "existing home sales rise" came from the National Association of Realtors. 

Why the disparity between information?  Well, first of all, some of the data is national vs. local, which would always make a difference.    The article discussing the Baltimore rents was very specific to "greater Baltimore" while the National Association of Realtors statistics were calculated based on National data.

So, what is the take away from both of these articles?  It would appear that nationally and locally existing home sales are rising.  On a local level the Baltimore metro area is showing that the average cost of rent has increased by 0.4% to an average cost of $1,691.00.  Zillow also reports that this is the second-fastest rate of year-over-year increase in the Country, following Chicago.   The average sales price in the Baltimore metro area fell, but only slightly, by 0.3% (between the months of July and August). 

If you are wondering what all of these facts and figures mean to you, if you are a renter, it is definitely time to think about purchasing a home.  With the fixed interest rates as low as 3.75% and a recovering housing market that will eventually lead to higher home prices, there could not be a better time to purchase!