“Desktop Valuations” are a quick way to look at the potential value of a home, but they do not take many factors into consideration, and some of the things they DO use to determine a value should not be used!

I answer questions on the Zillow site, and so many times the questions come from a place of, “Why, in my townhouse community where the houses are very much the same, is my neighbor’s worth $XXX and mine is worth $45,000 less despite mine being an end unit with an additional bump-out?”

That is a very good question, and one that doesn’t have a good answer. The algorithm takes into account the taxes you pay and when the house last changed hands. If a house hasn’t changed hands in some time, the taxes generally are lower, and that would bring the “value” of that house down. That just doesn’t seem right, does it?

Next to this is an example of the “range” of value for one house I found. If a professional real estate agent walked into your house and told you they thought it might sell for somewhere between $391,000 and $740,000, would you feel comfortable that the agent knew your market?

How about the houses “for sale nearby.” Do these look like they belong together as a picture of a particular Towson community to you? They seem to be a random selection of homes that happen to be in the same zip code.

The biggest issue is the quality of the Baltimore Zestimates.

As you can see here, Baltimore Zestimates are within 5% of an actual sales price only 42.6% of the time. They are within 10% of an actual sales price 66.4% of the time. They are within 20% of a sales price 83% of the time. These are with a median error of 6.1%.

Think about what that means.

On a $400,000 sales price, the Zestimate may show $380,000 or $420,000 — but again, that is only 42.6% of the time.

To get above 50%, you have to go within 10% of the actual sales price. So on that same $400,000 house, a Zestimate 66.4% of the time will be from $360,000-440,000.

To get to the closer 83%, you have to bring that out to 20% of a sales price. That could drop the Zestimate down to $320,000. Would you as a Baltimore seller be happy with that if your house were truly worth $400,000? How about a homebuyer? Would a Baltimore homebuyer be happy to pay $480,000 for a house that is really worth $400,000? Probably not. And the buyer’s mortgage company most likely wouldn’t let it happen, because an actual appraisal would most likely be close to the true market value of $400,000.

And don’t forget — that is with a median error of 6.1%, or approximately $24,000 give-or-take, on that $400,000 house.

Real estate everywhere is LOCAL. Hyper-local even.

Baltimore real estate values can be different street-by-street!

For a true understanding of your house’s value, don’t count on automated valuation websites. Contact me for a true idea of you Baltimore house value. I’d love to help!

Would you like to know more and see additional Zillow issues in the Baltimore area? See my past posts on incorrect Towson Zillow Zestimates for details.

Photo Courtesy Curry Architects and Towson Patch

The development is being put together by Heritage Properties of Towson and leasing will be done by The Cordish Companies.

Towson Circle III would be located on the 4.2 acre lot at the corner of East Joppa, Virginia, and Pennsylvania Avenues. There is currently a building there and the now-closed Burger King also sits on the lot. Here is how it looks today:

Not only will there be things to do and places to eat, there will be a 862 space parking garage to handle the expected large volume of cars.

Here is a draft of plans from the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations.

So far, according to Cordish, five bistro-type eateries have already agreed to move into the space. There will be some chain restaurants, as well as individually owned & operated ones.

This could be a great way to rebuild that area of Downtown Towson that is currently wasted space. Hopefully this will be a good & successful fit!

The article does clarify, though, that prices are still expected to drop in many areas, but there should be more home sales, and more houses being built, which are usually indicators of the beginnings of a recovery.

The reason prices are expected to fall in many areas would be due to the large number of foreclosures still out there. Many were delayed because of the “robo-signing” scandal last year, but will be moved forward this year.

The economy is an important piece in the housing recovery. Last month, the unemployment rate dropped to 8.5%, and 200,000 jobs were added. These are good signs for the economy, and housing usually follows economic recovery.

There are many factors that affect the housing recovery, and Baltimore real estate is extremely local. Some neighborhoods, like those I’ve noted in Towson home sales in December and Timonium December home sales, have seen some increases or at least stabilization.

Real estate is extremely local — as much as street-by-street or neighborhood-by-neighborhood.

To find out where your Baltimore house currently stands in the housing recovery, please contact me. I would be happy to help!

Average sales price was actually UP in 21286 to $330,255 from $246,288 last December. Sales were down slightly, with only 11 homes changing hands versus 15 last year, but that makes the average price even more significant.

Three townhouses in Towson sold with an average price of $181,667, but again, just one foreclosure or short sale could bring the average down tremendously when so few homes sold.

Eight detached homes sold, with an average sales price of $385,975. This tells me that the homes sold were most likely in Towson neighborhoods like Hampton, Wiltondale, Temfield, or Hunt Crest Estates.

Here is the detailed 21286 home sales report for December 2011.

Towson 21204 has also held its’ value, and had a good December, as I wrote in my Towson Patch post.

For more information on your Towson house value, contact me. I’d be happy to help!

This time 36 Baltimore County restaurants are participating!

Lunch and Dinner Prices will be  $10.12, $15.12, $20.12, $25.12, $30.12, or $35.12. You will need to check with the individual restaurants as to their pricing.

Participating Towson restaurants are 7West, Cafe Troia, The Melting Pot, and Razorbacks.

Parkville restaurants include Pappas and McAvoys.

There are a number of Timonium restaurants involved, including Basta Pasta, The Charred Rib, Christopher Daniel, Liberatore’s (as well as their location in Perry Hall), Michael’s Cafe, Pasta Blitz, The Peppermill, and Tark’s Grill.

Cockeysville and Hunt Valley restaurants are represented by Barrett’s Grill, The Oregon Grille, and Patrick’s Restaurant and Pub.

Northern Baltimore County showcases the Milton Inn in Sparks, who first began Baltimore County Restaurant Week in summer 2010, Friendly Farm in Upperco, and the Grille at Peerce’s in Phoenix.

There is a great group from East Baltimore County in Dundalk, Essex, Perry Hall, and White Marsh.

There are a number also from the West Side of Baltimore County, with those in Owings Mills, Catonsville and Pikesville, as well as Randallstown, Glyndon, and Randallstown.

Here is a full list of the participating restaurants.

Baltimore Restaurant Week Winter 2012 is January 20-29, so they overlap for two days. So enjoy good eats in Baltimore County and then head to Downtown Baltimore for more!

Home sales activity was down to 4.4 million homes last month, a drop from the pace set from December 2011 This Month in Real Estate of 4.97 million. It makes me wonder about the number of sales that may have been canceled last month. It is up, though, according to the numbers, 12% over the same period of 2010. The median home sale price was $164,000. The average interest rate for December was 3.91%, down from November.

The Top News, presented by Jay Papasan, is about home buyers, and the surprising things they look for in a home.

Most homebuyers start their searches online, and it takes, on average, about three months to find a home. Weather is less of a factor than in past years, because so many buyers view the house and the areas online to see if they are places they would want to consider.

In News You Can Use with Bryon Ellington, he discusses why listing your house NOW instead of waiting for the Spring may be a good decision.

1) As noted earlier, it takes, on average, about three months for a buyer to find their house. That will be Spring — so you are listing for those who are looking to settle in that time frame!

2) You have less competition. Many people wait to list in the Spring. If you list now, there are fewer houses for buyers to choose from — which may make yours more attractive!

3) Lenders, appraisers, movers, home inspectors, contractors, and other vendors also see a decline in business during these months. Therefore your sale/home/buyer gets more attention.

If you’d like more information on whether now is a good time to sell your house in Towson, contact me. I would be happy to help!

FHA loan limits via hud.gov

Currently, the limit for an FHA mortgage in Baltimore County is $560,000. That was due to drop down to $494,500, which could have really hurt Towson house values, since there are many in the $500-$550,000 price range!

The reason this could hurt Towson house values, is that a buyer would have to get more of a downpayment (it could be 20% or more!), and get what is called a JUMBO loan, which generally has higher interest rates than standard Conventional or FHA loans. The loan limit for standard Conventional loans is $417,000, a large drop from the FHA limit.

There are many buyers who do not have 20% to put down on a house, in order to qualify for a Jumbo loan, which would leave them most likely unable to buy a house above either the FHA loan limit, or the lower Conventional loan limit.

I wrote about the potential issue of a Baltimore FHA loan limit drop in June, and used this possible example:

Today, you meet with a REALTOR(R), and after meeting, you determine that your house is worth around $525,000. A qualified buyer using FHA secured financing can currently buy your home.

As of October 1, 2011, that same buyer would not be able to buy your house. What do you think would happen? Might their best & highest offer be $494,500, then, since they need FHA secured financing?

These extended limits are not forever, so make sure you know what the limits are when you list your home.

For professional, knowledgeable Towson real estate needs, contact me!

This Saturday, December 3, 2011 from 6-8pm, enjoy Santa’s arrival by fire engine to Olympian Park, see the official Baltimore County tree get lit, celebrate the season, and begin an exciting month in Downtown Towson.

There will be free hot chocolate, cookies, and musical performances! The tree will be lit around 6:25pm, and Santa and Mrs. Claus will arrive shortly after, heading to their workshop for good times and photos with kids. (Make sure to bring your own camera for photos with him!)

The Towson Chamber of Commerce has a lot of fun activities planned for the holiday season. Here is a list of everything they have set up for December!

So bundle up & enjoy Downtown Towson on Saturday evening for some good cheer. It should be fun!

As many of you know, my family was without power for an entire week. Each day, I would head into my office, and more & more people would have power back…but not us.

Much of Towson was left without power after the storm — many for a week or more.

Schools had delayed openings because of the lack of power — most of them through the first week due to lack of power!

Though BGE had a lot on their hands, many question if things could have been handled better, and power restored to many earlier than it was. Why were they not as prepared as they should have been? What can be done to prevent this type of long term outage in the future?

Senator Jim Brochin is the Maryland State Senator for Legislative District 42, which encompasses much of Towson. He lives in Towson and was affected by the outage. Here is a link to the flyer he sent to his constituents, inviting them to the Towson BGE town hall meeting.

If you are interested in hearing from BGE and sharing your thoughts, make sure to attend on Monday.

Towson High School is located at 69 Cedar Ave, Towson, MD 21286.

It is the perfect day for an “extra” hour of sleep, since our Baltimore Ravens take on the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night in PA. This way hopefully our team will be rested, as will we so we can stay up to watch & cheer them on!

A good idea every time you change your clocks forward or back, is to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. Though many newer homes are hardwired, and do not require the batteries to operate, older Towson homes are not, and need to be adjusted. Don’t wait until your smoke detectors start chirping — keep your family safe & change the batteries now! (Usually they take 9V batteries, which can be bought most anywhere!)

So I hope you are able to enjoy your extra hour of sleep. Of course, with a five year old, we probably won’t actually get an extra hour, we’ll just be up at 6 instead of 7…