National Statistics Do Not Equal Local Markets

If you are listening to the news this week, as most of us do, and hear news such as August was the second slowest month for Homebuilders since they started tracking new home sales (the slowest was this May, by the way), you probably are thinking that your local real estate market is in the tanks too.  In many cases, you would be right, otherwise the nationwide statistic wouldn’t look like it does.  Something that you need to keep in mind, however, is that real estate is, and always has been, locally driven.  Prices in Maryland, where we are, differ greatly from prices in, say, Texas.  So do the numbers of homes being sold. 

In many places in the nation, builders are offering great incentives to get people to but and are drastically cutting their prices to get deal hunters in their doors and keep inventory moving.  Its sort of the same effect we get with car dealerships when their new model years come out and they have to clear out old cars to make space for them.  In our local market, this is not the case, as builders have been able to at least move 1-2 homes a month.  They are offering incentives, but they aren’t huge, and they don’t negotiate a whole lot beyond what they tell you they will give.

This also applys in the re-sale sector of the market as well.  While most areas of our country have come down in price significantly from where they were in 2006, there are some areas that have seen increases in the same time period.  Our local market has gone down here in MD, but not as much as many other nearby states, largely due to the large stable high paying  job base we have in our area related to the federal government and large military installations we have nearby. 

I don’t write this to brag about our market, but rather to make sure that as you hear these nationwide real estate statistics you at least take the time to talk with a local real estate professional about your local market before making blanket assumptions about how things are working in your area.  This is even more important when you move to a new area, as assuming that the market where you move to is as good/bad as the market you are moving from can be a terrible mistake.

If you would like to get specific market statistics on home sales in your area, either contact your trusted local real estate professional, or contact me for a recommendation to a Realtor near you.  I welcome your comments and questions.  Keep Dreaming!