Buyers Continue To Snatch Up Homes For Sale In Howard County

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Despite the financial implications of a global pandemic, the Howard County housing market remained strong in July with homes selling at "lightning" speeds and the inventory shortage seems to be slowly letting up, according to the latest data from the Howard County Association of Realtors.

In July, residential homes spent an average of nine days on the market – the same amount of days as the previous month and 14 days lower than the same time last year, which is a 60.9 percent decrease.

New residential listings were up 12.6 percent (670 vs. 595) compared to the same time last year and active listings were down 33.9 percent from the same time last year. There were 537 homes sold in July this year, up 6.8 percent from last year, and the average sale price was $560,621, which is up 12.9 percent compared to the same time last year, the association disclosed.

"The great news for sellers is that we are still in a strong seller's market and prices will likely continue to rise for some time," HCAR President Shirley Matlock, CRS, said. "Hopefully buyers who have been unable to find a new home will gain some relief soon, since we are seeing an increase in new listings.

HCAR’s monthly local housing statistics are pulled from the Bright Multiple Listing Service. The Bright MLS service area includes Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia.