Real Estate Market Trends for the MD Suburbs of DC

(please note: you may need to visit this post at the website to view the videos if you’re getting this by e-mail or in your RSS reader)

In today’s post, I’d like to share two short videos.

The first video is produced by Real Estate Business Intelligence (a MRIS company) and looks at overall market trends in the Maryland Suburbs which include Prince George’s County and Montgomery County. This video, while quoting some interesting statistics, is a little bit optimistic, especially as it relates to home sales in Prince George’s County. Unfortunately, for those of us that live in Prince George’s County, the housing market is still very sluggish with lots of homes in serious mortgage distress (short sales and foreclosed homes) and the pool of qualified buyers still very small.

It’s still an interesting few minutes and provides some hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel:

Distressed Sales

RealtyTrac monitors both short sales and foreclosures on a national basis. Their website is extremely robust, if you’re in the foreclosure market, and they have an interesting news section. One of the interesting tidbits RealtyTrac points out is that short sales have increased substantially over last year. This is an indication that banks are finally getting with the program and allowing short sales to move forward before they become full blown foreclosures.

I still recommend against short sales because it really depends on the particular bank that holds the mortgage (or it might even be two banks – the 1st Trust and Equity Line). Files get lost, short sales negotiators are overwhelmed and, most importantly, there is a wide range of experience and competence among Realtors who list homes that are in mortgage distress. Short sales require specialized knowledge of the process. Not everyone has the training.

This video is a little dryer and more heavily laced with statistics about the short sale and foreclosure market and it is national, in scope. So it shouldn’t be considered representative of the MD Suburbs of DC. It’ s a good video, though: