The 2022 Mid-Atlantic housing market review from Bright MLS covers six states and the District of Columbia. It covers a little more than the “official” Mid-Atlantic area, going North to New Jersey and West to West Virginia.

Here are the areas covered in the report: District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Thank you to Bright MLS for this data, report, and infographic!

The Bright MLS 2022 Housing Report calls it “A Tale of Two Markets” with the beginning of 2022 showing high buyer competition and multiple offers in the Mid-Atlantic region with low inventory and low interest rates, to the summer’s higher interest rates, inflation, and buyers and sellers choosing to sit out and see what was going to happen. Prices were still pretty high, but weren’t rising at double-digit numbers as they had been, but they didn’t drop as much as the interest rates rose, which created a situation where housing prices with the higher interest rates may have put homes out of range of buyer affordability.

The 2022 median sales price in the area was $372,500, which is up 6.4% when compared to 2021. In the Baltimore metropolitan area, median prices were down 9.6% from their peak levels, which is less of a drop than the majority of the area, which dropped 11.9% from their peak.

Both buyers and sellers pulled back from the Baltimore real estate market when interest rates rose. This could be due to many factors, but two big ones could be: 1) Many sellers want to buy something else, and affordability and lack of inventory made it hard to find a new home. 2) Many homeowners refinanced during the low interest rate boom, so they may have chosen to stay in their home with the current payments rather than move to a new home with potentially higher payments.

In 2023, buyers and sellers should be prepared for interest rates over 6-6.5%. There may not be much inventory, so homebuyers may still need to be ready to be competitive for a well-priced home, depending on the area and circumstances.

The Baltimore housing market is very local. Neighborhood by neighborhood, there can be variations on supply demand, and other factors. If you are considering buying or selling a home in Timonium, Towson, Baltimore or the surrounding areas, please contact me. I would be pleased to be of service!