Demand for Housing, Maryland Mortgages Remains Strong in Salisbury
Even though the public has been inundated with dismal news regarding the national housing market downswing, the Lower Eastern Shore is in a unique situation due to an increasing population in need of housing, continued demand for waterfront property and low mortgage rates, experts say.
The local housing market is fueled primarily by people coming into the community, Memo Diriker, a business trend analyst at Salisbury University, said to The Daily Times.
“Nothing is telling us that it is slowing down, but that does not mean it’s not going to,” Diriker said.
While the numbers of housing units sold in Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties have dropped since last year, the amount of active inventory has almost doubled, providing buyers with more homes to choose from and creating a sort of equilibrium effect, said Kevin White, Realtor for Long & Foster and president of the Coastal Board of Realtors.
As the inventory has increased, the days on the market have also increased, White said. Single-family homes in Wicomico County stay an average of 88 days on the market with a median of 55 days; homes in Worcester sit an average of 121 days and a median of 102; and Somerset homes sit for 93 days on average with a median of 110 days.
These waiting periods are basically normal, White said. People have to keep in mind that for the past two years the market has not been normal, but incredible. Therefore, the slightly reduced demand for mortgage loans is no reason to panic.
“It’s just the normal supply and demand,” White said. “Buyers can take more time to look around with the inventory being up. In July 2005, property came on the market and then it was gone. Now it’s good news because it’s a good time for the buyer to take a look and find the perfect home for sale at a good price.”
White said that while the time these homes are sitting on the market may sound like a long time, the clock often begins ticking before the builders have broken ground.
The housing market is expected to get better in 2007, after the holidays, White said.