i didn't buy the bubble
and its just starting to deflate
so maybe wait

anyways

good luck

As a buyer who has watched the market for a year -- and chose not to purchase ..I am glad that I did my own research, read all the economic data and found the Maryland department of taxation and assesment websight http://(www.dat.state.md.us)
Best of luck
Mary

Although you posted your question last fall, I thought you'd like an update given your schedule for moving here. Our market in Howard County is beginning to improve. Certainly we've seen much more activity since the beginning of this year than we saw in the last quarter of 2007. However, prices are not increasing -- yet. In general, I'm seeing sellers be very realistic about their listing price when their house first comes onto the market. And they are willing to pay some closing costs for a buyer who makes a reasonable offer. I have had a couple of my listings receive multiple offers in the past few weeks -- even after being on the market for a while -- because they've been priced well and show well. I have about six buyers who will be purchasing in the $450,000-$600,000 range later this spring and into the summer, and I suspect I'm not the only agent with prospective buyers.

Properties in West Friendship do sell a bit slower than those in areas more to the east of Howard County. It's a pretty area, and not many people are aware of it. Right now, it's especially affected by the widening of Route 32, which has construction delays. The final construction will improve the traffic in the area significantly.

I do think that if you wait until next summer, you are going to be competing with more buyers and therefore run the risk of paying more for a house than you will today. When we came out of the last weak real estate market in 2001-2002, the improvement built slowly for about 8 months, and then took off. Right now, it will take about 8 more months to sell off the current inventory of resale houses. Although I don't think we'll see the huge appreciation again, all predictions tell us that we will have an strong influx of buyers by next spring.

Botom line -- you may want to consider buying later this year, depending on your price range and your personal circumstances.

Given your lenghty timeline, and your choice of a location that is generally not well known, I would have to ask why you have chosen that area. If you can buy within the next 6-12 months I would suggest that you do. Aside from farms, the stock of residential property in that area if fairly high end, and that is the portion of our market which is extremely competitive right now. There are several areas much like West Friendship in the area which should prove interesting to you as well. If you are interested in more information, please let me know. Prior to becoming an agent I was a police supervisor in Howard County, so I know the area like no one else! You can find properties and research crime statistics on my website.

Looking forward to welcoming you to the wonderful state of Maryland. You would want to purchase while the buyer's market lasts. When the market changes and becomes normal you will see price increases in the range of 4-6% annually. When it changes to a seller's market you will see price increases higher than that. During a buyer's market you have the best negotiations ability and an incredible selection of homes. Since you are not relocating until August 2009 not sure why you would purchase now. West Friendship is a very small market -- therefore the following statistics should not startle you since the pool is very small. Average prices in October 2007 increased 36.56% from October of 2006 -- this is based on 4 sales in October 2007 vs 2 sales in October 2006. The rate of absorption in the market is still very much in favor of the buyer. For example 8 homes came on the market in October but only 1 sold. It is still very much a buyer's market there. When you get ready to purchase do select a high quality agent and I hope that I will be one of the people you interview. For interview questions or to search for home feel free to browse through my web-site.