Here’s the scoop on home prices nationally versus locally in Maryland

The National Association of Realtors recently released an updated Existing Home Sales Report. In that report they use median sale prices which can be deceiving to the true market trends and here's why. 

The median sales price is based on the middle point of all sales, regardless of the type of home sold, i.e. single family, townhouse, or condo.  So if, for example, you’re in a neighborhood where single family homes, townhomes and condos are all purchase options, like Anne Arundel County’s Piney Orchard neighborhood, and the majority of sales for the period being measured were condos (typically the least expensive housing type) with a few townhomes and single families mixed in, that is going to make it look like neighborhood prices are falling when in actuality, it’s just a reflection of the majority type of home that sold.  Your single family or townhome did not lose value.

What we really need to look at, and what most reporting agencies use is the repeat sales prices which, in the Maryland real estate market, are showing a clear upward trend on home values.

It’s also important to note that NAR stats are not local.  They are just an indicator of trends nationwide.  You really need to focus on your neighborhood home values and we can help you do that with a complete homeowner dashboard where you can not only get a real-time value for your home, but track your equity, view neighborhood trends, and more.

And while the national reports show a decrease of 1.7% in home values overall, in the Maryland suburbs we’re showing a 1.7% increase in the average sales price, and in Anne Arundel county MD we’ve got a 2.69% increase in home prices so far this year. 

It’s all local, which is why it’s important you choose an agent that really understands the Maryland market to represent you on your home sale or purchase.  Let's connect!

You hear a lot about down payments when you're buying a home (unless you're using a VA loan), but nobody seems to talk about closing costs which are a component of the home purchase process in Anne Arundel County and the Fort Meade MD real estate market.

Before you start looking at homes you'll want to know what closing costs are, how much they are for your home purchase price range and who pays them.  

What Are Closing Costs?

Closing costs are expenses and fees related to the purchase and settlement of your home loan.  They are payments for the professionals handling the settlement of your real estate loan including , your appraiser and surveyor, lender fees, attorney fees, title insurance which is optional but recommended as it protects your investment with insurance against any claims to your title that may come to light after the sale, title review to make sure you are purchasing a property with a clear title, state and local transfer taxes, and more as detailed below.  I've used a home purchase price of $680,000 for my example here and highlighted each expense that makes up your total closing costs of $13,934.  These fees vary by location and home price and those shown below are specific to Anne Arundel County, MD. These are buyer expenses that are not included in your financing and must be paid by the buyer, or seller, or a combination of both on or before the date of your settlement.

A special thank you to Pete O'Donnell at Main Street Home Loans for providing the information below.  You can reach Pete anytime for financing questions at (410) 299-2043 or visit him on line to complete a loan application from the comfort of your own home.

If you have questions about title services and fees we highly recommend Rachel Forame at Turnkey Title, LLC to answer all of your questions and to handle the settlement of your home.

Who Pays For Closing Costs?

Well, for the past few years it was almost unheard of for sellers to pay buyer closing costs due to the high demand for homes and low inventory.  However, as of Spring 2023 we are seeing closing cost assistance popping back up again in real estate transactions with as many as 40% of recent transactions having some amount of seller closing help. You'll want to work with a pro who understands what's going on in your real estate market right now to know when and if closing cost help is an option for your offer. 

Using a round number of $14,000 for the total closing costs needed on a $680,000 real estate purchase in Anne Arundel county, you could ask the seller to pay all, half, or another amount of your choosing. Or, if you've saved up enough money to cover these costs, you can make your offer more competitive by paying all closing costs yourself.  This is sometime necessary on the hottest homes to make you competitive.  But, like everything else in real estate offers, the terms of your offer are determined by you with the expert guidance of your trusted real estate agent.

Bottom Line

When it comes to buying a home, it’s important to understand all of the financial components of your purchase including closing costs. Connect with The Roskelly Team and we'll guide you through the homebuying process with ease!

Checklist for Selling Your House This Spring

Congress gave Veteran home buyers a fabulous valentine's day gift this year via a reduction in the VA funding fee that Veterans pay to obtain a no money down VA home loan.  The decrease goes into effect for homes that close on or after April 7, 2023.

Here's a chart on the actual fees, but it's somewhat confusing so I'm providing a break down below on how it will affect homebuyers near Fort Meade MD using an average home cost of $400,000 and showing a first time use and subsequent use fees with a no down payment loan.

If you're thinking of buying a home near Fort Meade in 2023 we're happy to give you an exact estimate by purchase price to know what your savings would be as the amount varies if you put a down payment on the home and under certain other circumstances.  

If you're ready to make a purchase in 2023 you can pre-qualify for a VA mortgage online with one of our preferred VA loan specialists, or start your search for a home near Fort Meade on our website today.  Ask questions, schedule a showing and more, right from the property detail page to have one of our experienced, caring real estate team members reach out to you within minutes.

Should You Consider Buying a Newly Built Home in Odenton - Fort Meade MD?

The Odenton real estate market remains one of the strongest in Anne Arundel County and the general Fort Meade MD area.  With highly desirable neighborhoods like Seven Oaks and Piney Orchard that offer top notch amenities and easy commutability to the Odenton MARC station, NSA, and Fort Meade it's no wonder.

In addition to giving you the latest real estate sales stats for Odenton, we're going to take a look back at 2022 to give you a feel for where the market has been, and where it looks to be going.

First, let's see how we did in January.  Days on market is up, but falsely inflated by some overpriced and underprepared listings that are just not selling in today's more competitive market.  The sold dollar volume is down but that is absolutely lack of inventory which is down over 40%, not lack of demand.  Defying the odds, the average value of a home in Odenton increased almost 5% this month.  All of these are key indicators that we remain in a seller's market. 

Reflecting on 2022 we can see the dramatic decrease in closed sales in Odenton MD that relates directly to the increase in interest rates from the historic lows we saw during the COVID pandemic.

In our first month in 2023 we can see that the supply of available homes in Odenton started climbing in June and almost reached the one month mark (which still establishes a strong seller's market).  Typically, a seller's market is defined as a 3 month or less supply of available homes.  You can see below that Odenton has been well under that range for over a year.



In summary, homes for sale in Odenton are selling in 26 days or less but, the hottest listings are selling in one week or less.  Many sellers, or their agents, are marketing as if this was 2022 when little effort was required to find the best buyer for your home.  Today, it's extremely important that you choose a real estate agent that is going to give you an effective plan for preparing, staging, and marketing the home to the widest possible audience of homebuyers.  This advanced work will yield you top dollar and contract terms that are most favorable to you.  The Roskelly Team would love to put our 22 years of Odenton real estate experience to work for you!  Call (410) 721-6694 or visit us online at www.FortMeadeHomes.com to connect with our listing specialist Jessica Hood.

Top Reasons Sellers Are Choosing To List Their Homes

This blog is the first in our series of cities near Fort Meade, MD and the National Security Agency where we will explore some of the best places to live within a 30 minute commute to Fort Meade.  We've chosen this commuting range as it is the most frequently requested by our clients.

We're starting out with Odenton Maryland population 43,000 which is located in Anne Arundel county and borders Fort Meade to the Southeast.

Odenton, MD is a top destination request for Fort Meade homebuyers and renters due to the convenient 5 - 20 minute commute time to the base, the wide variety of housing options (including condominiums, townhomes and single family homes priced from around $250,000 - over $1,000,000), nearby shopping, top rated schools, quick access to the Odenton MARC station & BWI, fantastic restaurant options, nearby cultural events, and lots of nearby recreational opportunities.

If you're thinking of making Odenton your new home, The Roskelly Team would love to get you started with some recommendations for places to live, along with a search link to all homes currently listed for sale in that neighborhood.  If the links below show no results, there are not currently homes for sale in that neighborhood.  Odenton is popular, and homes sell quickly.

The top neighborhoods in Odenton, MD based on recently closed sales are:

Cedar Ridge - Condominiums
Chapel Grove - Luxury townhomes & Condos
Chapelgate - Duplexes & single family homes
Chestnut Gable - Condominiums
Courts of Four Seasons - Luxury Single Family Homes      
Crawford's Ridge - Single family homes
Eden Brook - Age qualified condominiums       
Four Seasons Estates - Duplexes & single family homes
Gatherings at Forest Glen - Age qualified condominiums
Hammond Park - Older single family homes
Kings Heights - Older single family homes
Kings Ransom - Townhomes
Lions Gate - Condominiums and townhomes
Maple Ridge - Duplexes & single family homes
Odenton Town Center - Luxury townhomes & condominiums
Peachtree - Single Family Homes
Piney Orchard - Age qualified condos, condominiums, townhomes & single family homes with all the amenities
Seven Oaks - Condominiums, townhomes & single family homes
Two Rivers - Odenton's newest community with age qualified & non-age qualified villas & single family homes

Shopping is close and plentiful from Odenton MD where you're less than 15 minutes from the Arundel Mills Outlet Mall - a huge, regional mall, the Annapolis Mall (so much fun stuff!), and Laurel MD shopping including Walmart and most big box stores.  Additionally you're less than 45 minutes from all of the fantastic shopping in Baltimore and Washington including Ikea and lots of boutique specialty shops.

Odenton is ideal for commuting, with it's very own MARC Station that offers plenty of parking, commuter bus service, a 10 minute commute from most locations to The Baltimore Washington International Airport, and even ride sharing possibilities.  If you work in Baltimore or Washington, you're about 30 minutes from either if you reside in Odenton.

If you're looking for fun things to do near Odenton you have so many options in or close by including the Piney Orchard Ice Arena, parks and walking trails aplenty, a community library, musical theater,  lots of top concert  destinations within an hours drive, and much more.

And let's not forget the best places to eat in Odenton.  I'm going to name a few faves including...

The Hideaway  We went for the famous wings & BBQ, but there are so many menu options with great desserts you will definitely want to check out this hidden gem.

The Orchard Cafe is located in Piney Orchard and it is the "go to" spot for good old fashioned breakfast and anytime comfort food.

Mamma Roma, is also located in Piney Orchard and offers some of the best Italian food around with generous portions and reasonable prices.  

Expressway Pit Beef has the hands down best BBQ sandwich and the sides are to die for!  Nothing fancy here, just outdoor tables and a pick up window but this is a must try for Odenton eateries.  They do deep fried turkeys for the Holidays as well. Trust me and give this place a try.

For Mexican food, you have a couple of great choices but I have to pick a fave, so I'm going with newcomer Lime & Salt Taqueria also in Piney Orchard.

And let's round it out with some fancy at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in the Odenton Town Center.  Hop off the MARC train, walk across the street and grab some dinner.

Odenton Schools have some pretty good ratings and are definitely worth a look if you're planning a move to the area.

Odenton still offers a small town feel with a variety of options for housing and recreation.  If you're commuting to Fort Meade, Baltimore or DC, Odenton is a great place to call home!

Anne Arundel County homeowners, your home values are holding strong and outperforming the national market.  Curious about your home or neighborhood?  Contact The Roskelly Team for a free, no-obligation market value analysis for your home in Odenton, Severn, Crofton, Gambrills or surrounding areas.  You do not need to be selling to request a report!

Infographic courtesy of Keeping Current Matters

Is 2023 the year you plan to sell your Anne Arundel County home? If so, you'll be happy to know that values are holding pretty steady and even if you bought at the peak of the market, values have not dropped by much.  If you purchased your home prior to 2021, chances are you have substantial equity to use, invest or upgrade your home. 

The chart below shows home prices for the past 5 years.  If you're interested in finding out just what your home is worth in today's market, The Roskelly Team would love to help.  You don't have to be in the market to sell to request a valuation.  Just visit us online for a one time market value analysis, or sign in to our home equity tool that will keep you updated monthly with values and show you an up-to-the-minute summary of where you stand with your real estate investment.

If you missed out on buying a home, it's definitely not too late.  Come search homes for sale in Odenton MD and beyond!  Home sellers are more willing to negotiate right now and we'd love to help you get a great deal on your perfect place.