Maryland Mortgage Lenders

Home ownership in Maryland is moving away from the buying boom as of late, and into a slower pace of buying and selling. This has many advantages for the prospective home buyer.

The slower pace of home sales in the last quarter of 2005 resulted in a gradual increase in the inventory of homes for sale. The growth of inventory, as measured by the months’ supply of existing homes, will help move the real estate market to a more balanced state, where the buyers and sellers alike can engage in more rational and timely transactions. As a result, contingency clauses in real estate contracts that help protect consumers will one again proliferate. The NAR measures the balance, or the equilibrium, in the housing market by a sales pace that would help deplete the existing inventory of homes in about six months.

Condominium rental and purchase has fallen far behind the use of townhouses in Maryland. The last quarter of the 2005 market for townhouse units, with an estimated 2.2 months’ supply, was the tightest Maryland had seen among various product types. The months’ supply for townhouses grew by 53.4 percent from the third quarter of 2005 and by 111.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2004.

This increase means that those aspiring to purchase a townhouse rather than rent will be in luck, but should be prepared to move quickly. The supply of townhouses was well below two months in Baltimore, Carroll, Charles, Howard and Prince George’s counties. The supply was between two to three months in Anne Arundel, Cecil, Frederick, Harford, Montgomery and St. Mary’s counties. The supply of townhouse units exceeded six months in Caroline, Dorchester, Garrett, Kent and Queen Anne’s counties. Overall, Prince George’s County, with one months’ supply, had the tightest townhouse market in the last quarter of 2005.

Overall, the mortgage market in Maryland is looking better and better for the prospective borrower, with a slowing estate market forcing the hand of lending institutions and those looking to sell properties alike. The median average of the price of a home in Maryland is above the national average, and buyers should be looking at spending on average $ 146,000.

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