A recent article in the Baltimore Sun states that many Baltimore homes are selling in a matter of hours.

Though that may be true for a few houses, it should not be used as a true representation of the Baltimore real estate market.

First, the article states that 100 houses in the past five months sold that quickly. There are as many as thousands of sales per month, so that is a VERY small percentage. Last month alone in the Baltimore Metro area 1,451 homes changed hands. So, on average, 20 of those 1451 homes sold in a day (though last month there were 38 – meaning the other four months had less.) That would be 1.38% of Baltimore metro homes. The other 98.62% of Baltimore home sales did NOT happen in a day. In fact, last month, the average days on the market for Baltimore homes was 106 days.

Second, the “source” is also essentially selling their buyer services and stating to buy quickly before houses are gone.

Now, 201 homes sold in less than 10 days, so the market is definitely picking up and many homes are selling quickly. And I will share that some of my buyers have been in bidding wars recently, if the house is priced right at the beginning, so I don’t want to minimize that buyers who want to buy a home need to be ready — and need to be ready FAST.

The “sold in a day” or “in a matter of hours” statistic is thrown off, because we do not know how many of those homes sold *before* they were actually on the market — whether to a friend, or someone the seller knows. When entered into the MLS, it appears they sold right after they came on the market, but in fact, they were sold before they ever made it into the MLS.

Keep in mind that the Baltimore Metro area includes Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Harford County, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, and Carroll County, and each Baltimore neighborhood is VERY different. Make sure to have a professional who knows YOUR area very well, who can advise you to the best of their ability.

Here is a more detailed report of the February 2013 Baltimore home sales.

For more information about the Baltimore real estate market, please contact me. I would love to help guide you in the right direction!