HoCo Housing Holds Up

Home values in HoCo have weathered the housing recession better than the rest of the Baltimore Metro area. According to this post on Jamie Smith Hopkins Real Estate Wonk blog in The Sun, as of June, HoCo home prices were only “7 percent less expensive than the typical sale in 2007, when prices peaked, according to Metropolitan Regional Information Systems data. Harford, the next closest, saw double the drop.”

“The reputation of its school system and its location between Baltimore and Washington have worked to Howard County's advantage for years, so it's not a complete shock that it might fare relatively better in rough times. But goodness, prices are still double what they were in 2000. In June, at least, Howard's median sale price was up about half a percent over the year before, which in turn was up over the year before that.”

Then again this is only the overall picture. In certain price points the value drop has been considerably higher. In my Ellicott City neighborhood, where new homes sold in the $700K to $800K range in 2007, the average value has declined by approximately 20%.

...and we are not even near a proposed intermodal site!