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7.11.18 – Maryland Daily Record –  Daily Record Business Writer

A supply constrained housing market continued to push the price of homes up in Maryland’s major metro areas to levels not seen since before the housing bubble burst.

(Feverpitch / Depositphotos.com)

The median price of $285,000 is the highest June price in a decade. The median price last month approaches the all-time high of $289,900 set in June 2007, according to data provided by MarketStats by ShowingTime based on listing activity from Bright MLS.

The median home price in the Baltimore area increased by 2 percent year over year. At the same time the sales volume of $1.37 billion represented a 5.4 percent decrease for the same time last year.

Howard County remained the most expensive market in the Baltimore area with a median home price of $448,000 last month, which is a 2.4 percent jump from the previous June. Baltimore also held onto its place as the most affordable market with its median home price increasing 3.7 percent to $170,000.

Closed sales were down 6.2 percent from last June, and new listings were down by 3.2 percent from last year.

In June, the median home price in the Washington metro area, which includes that city, Northern Virginia, and two Maryland counties, reached an all time high of $471,000.

Maryland’s suburbs outside of Washington also saw median sales prices increase, with an 8.6 percent in Montgomery County and a 6.1 percent increase in Prince George’s County.

In Prince George’s County, the inventory of houses increased by 7.1 percent, and its median sales price of $296,970 remains the most affordable market in the Washington area. In Montgomery County, inventory was down by nearly 7 percent, but the median price of $477,750 was the second lowest in the region.

While there’s no signs of similar troubles in the housing market that contributed to the financial collapse, the lack of supply remains a concern for residential real estate professionals.

It also likely means the demand for apartments won’t be softening because of a lack of desirable options on the market for first time home buyers. The top-tier apartment market in the Baltimore metro area, according to a report by Delta Associates, performed well in during the 12 month period ending in June.

Absorption of new units jumped 12 percent from the same time period the previous year. Apartments in Baltimore did particularly well, and were responsible for nearly half the new apartments leased during that time frame. Rents remained flat, however, the development pipeline for Class A apartments was down by 20 percent.