Number of Home Sales Up in St. Mary’s During July While Prices Dropped Nearly 2 Percent; Big Drops in Sales in Calvert and Charles

Real Estate Market in PG County Collapsed;
Down Overall by 18% Statewide

By Kenneth C. Rossignol
ST. MARY’S TODAY

LEXINGTON PARK  ---  The bustling Patuxent River Naval Air Station, home to NAVAIR headquarters, the Navy’s Naval Air Warfare Aircraft Division, the Test Pilot School and many other missions employing more than 20,000 people are still fueling the local real estate market in St. Mary’s County while big drops in the number of houses sold hit neighboring Calvert and Charles Counties.

Sales of existing and new homes in St. Mary’s County during July of 2007 increased by 8.5% over 2006, according to the Maryland Association of Realtors.

The MRIS reports that 128 units sold at an average price of $347,084 in July of this year while 118 homes sold at an average price of $353,031 in July of 2006.

This month, sales are lagging, says one local realtor with many homeowners taking their homes off the market and instead renting them. 

In turn, many new workers at PAX River are afraid to buy as they worry about selling homes in 2 to 3 years and are instead renting, with the end result being that where there used to be a large supply of available rental homes, that few are left to choose from.

“The stock of rental homes has really dwindled,” said Len Parrish of Lexington Park real estate firm Irene B. Parrish Realty.  “buyers are still out there and some people are still buying homes for the same reasons they always have, to invest for their futures, for tax breaks and to build equity rather than collect rent receipts.”

The story in Calvert and Charles Counties is bleak compared to St. Mary’s.

During July of this year sales dropped nearly 25 percent; 98 homes sold in Calvert County compared to 130 last year while the average price increased 8.8 %, from $388,882 to $423,062.

In Charles County, the number of homes sold crashed by 33 percent, from 231 homes in July of 2006 to 155 homes in July of this year.  The average sales price in Charles County still increased 2.8 % from $361,206 to $371,365.

Overall in Maryland, housing units sold during July of 2007 declined to 5,874 from 7,188, a huge slump of 18.3%.   Overall, prices held steady with a 2.6 % increase in average sales price to $380,161.

St. Mary’s was one of three Maryland counties which saw any increase in sales during July with the others being Wicomico, home to Ocean City and its many retirement communities and the other being Talbot County, home to many millionaires with large country estates.

While Wicomico County saw an average price of $218,248, influenced by condo sales, Talbot’s average price of $650,565 was certainly reflective of the many estates.

Montgomery County saw a huge drop in sales of 16%, from 1207 homes sold in 2006 to 1015 in July of 2007.  The pricey DC suburban county had an average price of $601,995, a healthy 10 % increase over 2006.

PG County’s real estate market collapsed with a huge 42% drop in home sales and also prices dropping by 2 percent.  July of 2006 in PG home sales of 1074 homes sold drooped to 623 this year during the same month.
 

Only 6 of Maryland’s 23 counties and Baltimore City showed increases in average sales prices.
While home sales are holding their own in St. Mary’s, the commercial and office real estate market is overstocked with available space, according to local real estate owners and developers.  New office buildings and retail space along Rt. 235 continue to advertise availability of office space, with many new buildings attracting tenants from older structures.

The 2006 figures for Maryland home sales show that sales dropped 16% in the state with St. Mary’s matching the statewide drop but average sales prices actually went up by 7.8%. Charles saw home sales drop in 2006 over 2005 by 13% with average home sales increasing by 6% and Calvert sales of homes nose-dived by more than 25% in 2006 from 2005 but prices went up by 5%.