The number of homes sold continued to drop in the Baltimore area in September as the market — no longer aided by a federal incentive for homebuying — searched for a bottom.
Buyers purchased about 400 fewer houses, townhouses and condos in September than a year earlier, said Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, which runs the region's multiple listing service used to buy and sell properties. The 19 percent decrease represented the third month in a row of double-digit declines after the rise spurred by the federal homebuyer tax credit.
Deals had until Sept. 30 to close to gain the tax credit, but everyone who could settle by June 30 did so to avoid missing what was then the deadline. Congress extended the deadline at the last minute to help buyers waiting on short sales and other complex purchases.
The average price of homes changing hands in the Baltimore area rose just over 2 percent from a year earlier, to $281,000. But the average was pushed upward in part by the changing mix of homes selling. Fewer first-time buyers purchased starter homes in September than last year, when the $8,000 tax credit was in effect.
The number of homes sold for less than $250,000 dropped 23 percent compared with a year ago, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis. The number of homes changing hands for $500,000 or more rose slightly.
Home purchases fell across the region except in Carroll County, where sales were flat, according to Metropolitan Regional Information Systems.
The number of homes sold fell by 20 percent in Anne Arundel County, 17 percent in Baltimore City, 26 percent in Baltimore County, 22 percent in Harford County and 14 percent in Howard County.
Average sale prices varied, falling 9 percent in Baltimore City and 2 percent in Carroll County, but rising 1 percent in Anne Arundel County, 5 percent in Baltimore County, 8 percent in Harford County and 5 percent in Howard County.
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