This Month in Real Estate November 2011

This Month in Real Estate for November 2011 has been released!

The numbers from October, presented by Jay Papasan, showed the home sales at an annual pace of 4.9 million, down slightly from last month, but much better than September’s numbers. Median home price was $165,000, which is another drop from This Month in Real Estate October 2011. Interest rates rose very slightly to an average of 4.1% for a 30 year fixed mortgage.

The Top Story asks the question, “What are first time homebuyers looking for?” According to KW research, much of it is to stay in the same area as they were renting. 3/4 of first time homebuyers bought a single family home, and most purchased a three bedroom, two bath home.

Of course, this data is nationwide, and the Baltimore real estate market is different than any other. Many areas of the country do not have the dense, highly populated areas with rowhomes such as Downtown Baltimore in Federal Hill, Fells Point, Canton, and Locust Point. Even Baltimore County has many townhouse neighborhoods, such as Mays Chapel in Timonium, Rodgers Forge, and areas of White Marsh and Perry Hall.

In News You Can Use, Bryon Ellington discusses three things you should know about buying versus renting.

1) Equity. You can build wealth through equity. He aligns it with a long term savings account. Every month that you pay your mortgage, a portion of the mortgage goes into that “account” (your principle).

2) Appreciation. If the market where you buy appreciates, then that equity becomes even larger.

3) Make it your own. You can renovate, paint, do whatever you’d like to it!

He also points out that when you pay rent, you are still paying a mortgage. It is just someone else’s mortgage, and you don’t get the benefits of ownership.

For more information about buying a home in Baltimore, please contact me. I would be happy to help!

Emergent BioSolutions Jobs in Baltimore

Emergent BioSolutions will have 120 new jobs in Baltimore in the next few years.

The company, based in Rockville, had a ribbon cutting ceremony on their 56,000 square foot facility on Lombard Street in Downtown Baltimore on Friday.

Emergent is the maker of the only FDA approved anthrax vaccine. The Washington Post reports that they are hoping that this location near Johns Hopkins Bayview will help them get into more commercial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

This is great for Baltimore residents because there will be more job opportunities opening in the area, which could also help the Baltimore real estate market, especially Canton house values, since it is so close by and right on public transportation routes!

Johns Hopkins Hospital Job Openings

Johns Hopkins Hospital has 400 job openings on its main campus.

The main campus is located on Broadway past Fells Point and Canton in Downtown Baltimore.

The chief operating officer, Judy Reitz, states that this does not include openings some of its’ other campuses.

They are also building new patient towers to be opening in January 2012, which could bring as many as 1,000 new jobs to the area.

Johns Hopkins Hospital employs over 6,000 people.

The Baltimore Business Journal reports that the jobs listed as open include:

rehabilitation specialists; administrative assistants; nurse managers; lab technicians; pharmacists; computer programmers; and equipment managers. Reitz said the hospital also is always looking for registered nurses, housekeepers, security guards and cafeteria workers.

This is great news for the Baltimore real estate market, because this could mean people moving into the area and possibly buying houses to take advantage of the incredibly low interest rates and low housing prices.

Baltimore Tax Free Shopping Week April 16-25

The “Unofficial” Baltimore Tax Free Shopping Week begins April 16, 2010 and runs through April 25.

Also known as Baltimore Retail Week, the focus is on local retailers offering their wares with no tax this week after you pay your government taxes!

Over 50 retailers in four shopping districts, including Federal Hill, are currently participating.

Here is the full list of Baltimore Retail Week participating stores . In most cases, when you shop, you need to mention the code “BRW” to receive at least a 6% discount on your purchases.

More local retail business owners may join, so be sure to check back to see.

What a great way to showcase local businesses and give back to the Baltimore neighborhoods that have supported them in their endeavors!

Orange County Choppers in Canton for Bike Built for Lutherville Based Monster Diesel

The Orange County Choppers TV show will be in Canton Square on Tuesday, January 6, 2010 to show off and deliver the new bike they built for Lutherville based Monster Diesel.

The Baltimore.org site states

Monster Diesel is an alternative green diesel fuel additive developed from synthetic technology which is more powerful and more environmentally friendly than traditional fuels.

At about 4 pm, the streets around Canton Square will be blocked off for filming, and Paul Sr. from Orange County Choppers will be led by a police motorcade around Canton. Anyone is welcome to come watch and enjoy as he cruises the neighborhood!

This should be a neat event — having the prestigious Orange County Choppers here in Baltimore, filming in our beautiful city, and building a bike specifically for a company based here in Lutherville is something that will hopefully bring more business to Monster Diesel, and tourism to Baltimore, once the show has aired.

New ramp from 695 Westbound to 95 South Near White Marsh plus Major Traffic Switch at 895/95 Split Will Mess With Baltimore Traffic

Beginning July 1, 2009, expect major delays on 695 and 95 as confused motorists attempt to navigate the new location for the ramp to 95 South near White Marsh. Motorists will be exiting 695 from the RIGHT instead of the left, as they had been doing, and entering 95 South on the right as well. Here is the link to the press release from the Maryland Transportation Authority.

Add onto that a few short miles down 95 South, where on July 12, 2009, there will be a major switch in traffic pattern at the 895/95 split in Baltimore. Currently, motorists remain to the left to get on to 895, and merge to the right to remain on 95. As of July 12, this will switch COMPLETELY around, making motorists merge to the left to remain on 95 and to the right to get on 895. Here is a graphical description of the change.

This means motorists who just navigated the merge onto 95 from 695 from the right now have to merge across traffic to the left lanes to remain on 95 South.

What does this mean for the people who live nearby? Have their house values dropped due to this? With the noise, dirt, dust, and road closures forcing motorists onto Route 1 or Philadelphia Rd in White Marsh and Rosedale, or Eastern Avenue near Canton in Baltimore how has this effected their values?

So far, running statistics, the market has not dropped in those areas. A few are actually better over last year. Was the year ago value drop due to early construction & in anticipation of what was to come? Possibly.

I am pleased to see that house values in White Marsh, Canton, Rosedale and the other areas surrounding this construction have not been hit hard. I will keep an eye on the statistics to keep updates coming.