Market News
Home sales increase in ‘09
(THE BALTIMORE SUN) - Falling home prices have transformed many properties from asset to albatross, but there’s hope yet for those looking to sell: Nearly two-thirds of the Baltimore region’s ZIP codes saw sales increases last year, the first time since 2005 that buying didn’t slump across the board.
Sales are on the upswing as first-time homebuyers jump in - enticed by a temporary $8,000 tax credit - and investors snap up foreclosed properties. And some homeowners who can’t wait any longer for prices to rise are finding ways to move on.
Baltimore residents Geoff and Gail Turk are in the market to buy a house despite not being able to sell their condo for anything close to what Gail bought it for in 2007. As they look for a three-bedroom property, the Turks are trying to rent the one-bedroom condo. They’d like to start a family, “and we just need more space,” said Geoff Turk, 38, an Anne Arundel County teacher.
The market is far different from the housing-bubble days, when prices were escalating and selling was a snap. Four years since the slump took hold, foreclosures continue to be a problem and people selling at a loss are all too common. Even as home sales picked up in most areas last year, average prices fell in all but a handful of communities, a Baltimore Sun analysis found.
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