In today’s lesson, we’re going to take a look at two towns or cities, if you will, that are not really that far apart geographically.  Bethesda, MD and College Park, MD are about 14 miles from one another and about a 30 minute drive according to the BING map.  Of course, that doesn’t take into account rush hour but why quibble.

Here’s a snapshot of what the median price for single family homes in College Park, MD looks like:

[altos_chart st="MD" cid="1977581" zid="1977580" rt="sf" ra="a,c" q="a" left="median_price" size="m" timeSpan="e" link="http://www.mdsuburbanhomes.com/CollegePark-20740.php" /]

Here is a snapshot of the same time period for Bethesda, MD:

[altos_chart st="MD" cid="1977653" zid="1977662" rt="sf" ra="a,c" q="a" left="median_price" size="m" timeSpan="e" link="http://www.mdsuburbanhomes.com/Bethesda-20817.php" /]

For people who live in the area, these two charts are not necessarily a surprise.  Bethesda, MD has a whole different demographic than College Park, MD. One is more of a college town with the University of MD and a lot of what can safely be described as middle class homes. The other is considered to be urbane and cosmopolitan with a wide variety of ethnic restaurants, upscale shopping affluent housing communities.

Both towns have quick and easy access to METRO and other commuter routes.  One could say College Park, MD is even a bit more centrally located transportation-wise.

It’s just one of those quirks of living in a large metropolitan area.  There are some areas that are doing great.  Others, not so much.  That’s what Realtors (like me!) are so important and why bouncing around on a variety of Internet websites may not be so helpful.  All real estate is local. And it takes a local guy to help sell your home.

Check out the Real Estate Market Trends for your area .  Just click here.  You will get a totally FREE report e-mailed to you.