Severn River Waterfront Fun – Annapolis Maryland

With the mercury expected to reach 100 degrees today (July 22, 2011) almost any activity on the water, in the water and possibly underwater is the place to be.  Water skiers and wake boarders will be plying the Severn River from Severna Park to Annapolis Maryland.

Remember to drink plenty of water, avoid alcoholic beverages, take frequent breaks out of the sun to cool off, and apply plenty of waterproof sunblock!!!

Oh by the way, if you’re looking for a new home, second home, retirement home or weekend getaway in the Annapolis Maryland area to dock your ski boat, check out the waterfront homes for sale in:

Annapolis Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale

Arnold Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale

Crownsville Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale

Severna Park Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale

Median Sales Price in Mid-Atlantic Still Trending Downward

The median sales price of homes in the Mid-Atlantic region in June 2011 is off $70,900 from a peak of $354,900 in July of 2007.  That is a little less than a 20% decline in the median sales price of homes in the Washington DC – Baltimore Maryland area which includes Annapolis Maryland located in Anne Arundel County.  However, the median sales price is up $49,000 from a low of $235,000 in February 2011.

The graph (above) clearly illustrates a season trend where the median sales price rises during the transition from spring to summer.  While sellers control only two things – asking price and property condition – clearly going to market in the spring suggest that sellers could obtain a high price for their home than if they were to attempt selling in the winter.

No matter when sellers put their homes on the market, their home will sell for the most amount of money during the first few weeks it’s on the market.  So, it’s critical to properly price position when first coming to market.  Buyers opinion of price moves rapidly from “what’s it going to take to get this house” to “what’s it worth” as days on market increases.

Buyers can tell a lot about how a home fits into the marketplace based on the days-on-market counter in the multiple listing system.  The more days on market, the more likely there is a problem with the price of the home, the condition of the home, or the location of the home.  As the days on market continues to accrue, buyers are likely to skip a home that’s been on market for a very long time.  Sellers simply cannot afford to improperly price position their home from the very beginning.

If a home is over priced, sellers will experience little or no traffic and no offers.  If a home is market prices, sellers will experience some traffic (especially early on) and maybe one offer.  If a home is action priced, sellers will have heavy traffic and will likely have one or more offers within the first few weeks.  Failure of sellers to “correct the course” and reposition their home will in all likelihood cost them more the longer they are on market.

What can sellers expect for the next quarter?  Median sales prices will peak in July and start trending downward over the next six months as the real estate market transitions from spring/summer to fall/winter.  Days on market will continue to grow as inventory levels climb with more homes coming to market while fewer and fewer go under contract and are eventually sold.

Crownsville Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale - July 2011

Craftsman cottages and waterfront estates dot the Southern shore of the Severn River in Crownsville Maryland.  The hillside location puts many of these mostly North-facing waterfront retreats well out of the floodplain.  The Severn River, Valentine Creek and Round Bay offer boats deep water.  Crownsville is well known for hosting the second largest renaissance festival in the US – the Maryland Renaissance Festival.  Crownsville is well located close to downtown Annapolis, a short drive to BWI, and within easy commuting distance from downtown Washington DC and the heart of Baltimore.

There are 22 Crownsville waterfront homes for sale today. The average asking price is $904,386 and they have been on the market an average of 241 days. The minimum asking price for active listings is $245,000, with a maximum asking price of $2,425,000, and the median asking price is $824,250. For the list of Crownsville Maryland waterfront homes for sale click here.

There are 2 waterfront properties under contract in Crownsville today. The average asking price is $1,125,000 and they have been on the market an average of 44 days. The minimum asking price for listings under contract is $750,000, with a maximum asking price of $1,500,000, and the median asking price is $1,125,000. For the list of waterfront homes under contract in Crownsville click here.

In the last 90 days there was only 1 waterfront home sold in Crownsville Maryland. The asking price was $699,000 and was on the market for 22 days.

The sold price for Crownsville waterfront home was $665,000 for a 95.14% sold-to-list ratio at the time of the sale.  For the list of waterfront homes sold in the last 90 days in Crownsville Maryland click here.

With only 1 waterfront home selling in the last 90 days in Crownsville Maryland, there is a 66 month inventory of homes for sale on the water. This really is a remarkable time for qualified buyers to consider buying waterfront property because:

• Crownsville Waterfront homes are very affordable right now
• Interest rates are low even on jumbo mortgages
• Excellent financing options are available for qualifying buyers
• Timing is everything when it comes to finding just the right Crownsville waterfront venue
• Waterfront home ownership is still the everyone’s dream

NOTE: All data as of July 22, 2011.

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Annapolis Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale

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9 Ways to Avoid Getting Burned When Buying Waterfront Property

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Value of the Anne Arundel County Real Estate Market

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010 Census State & County Quickfacts about 8.7% of all housing in Maryland is located in Anne Arundel County. According to Quickfacts, there were 204,757 housing units in Anne Arundel County in 2009 and there were 2,341,194 housing units in Maryland. Owner occupied homes were reported to have a median value of $369,200 in 2009. In June 2011, the average sold price was $341,165 in Anne Arundel County. The median household income in the county is estimated by the census to be $79,843.

Annapolis Maryland Luxury Homes For Sale – July 2011

Distinctive architecture and exquisite details characterize luxury residences in Annapolis Maryland.  Historic homes and new construction can be found around town.  Many Annapolis Maryland luxury homes are sit along the Chesapeake Bay, the Severn River or the South River.  The opulence, rarity and richness of luxury homes can also be found off the water and in historic downtown Annapolis.  Many luxurious properties feature state-of-the art media rooms, gourmet kitchens, guest houses, pools, cabana’s with outdoor kitchens, deep water piers, covered boat houses and multiple garages.

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We’re Not Sitting On Any Fences!

If you’ve seen the July 13, 2011 issue of USA TODAY you may have seen Realogy’s latest advertisement.  Coldwell Banker joined with parent company Realogy and took out the ad because we felt it was important to take a leadership position in the real estate industry and deliver a visible pro-housing message in the market at a time when too many others – ranging from Congress to consumers – appear to be sitting on the fence about homeownership.

The ad asks USA TODAY‘s 3.2 million daily readers the question, “Rather than sitting on the fence … why not own it?” and provides five supporting reasons why now is a compelling time for qualified buyers to purchase a home.  This really is a remarkable time for qualified home buyers to consider buying a home because:

• Homes are more affordable
• Rates are low
• Timing is everything
• Homeownership is still the American Dream
• Financing is available

We continue to make our voices heard in Washington, D.C., in support of homeownership and its importance to our economy and society, all of us at Coldwell Banker, including myself, hope that our simple message will encourage you to consider the facts and talk with a local real estate professional at Coldwell Banker, if a home purchase is in your future plans.

We’re not sitting on any fences!

Six Reasons Why Homes Don’t Sell

1. Your home is overpriced.  “There’s a buyer for every home.”  The fact is that the Seller sets the asking price, the Buyer sets the value and the difference in the range is the market.  Overpricing is the most common reason homes don’t sell.  Remember that the first four weeks your home is on the market is the “golden time” and that is when you will have 80% of the showings.  Overpricing compared to your competition will be duly noted and it is possible that your home may not appraise at the price you’ve set.  And, when your home remains on the market too long, buyers will begin to wonder if there are serious reasons why it hasn’t sold.

2. Your home doesn’t “show” well.  Let’s face it, even the very best homes need a little makeover to shine today.  Standing out as clean and pristine, compared with the competition, is something that you can do something about.  You can inexpensively paint walls and clean floors and carpets.  Along with a fresh coat of paint on the front door, these things will have impact on a Buyer’s attention.

3. You’re in a bad location.  Location, location, location.  Face facts, you can’t change your location and location has as much of an impact on the salability of your home as price and condition.  Every effort should be made to accentuate the positives and eliminate the negatives.  Compensation for a poor location includes adjusting the asking price and possibly offering other attractive incentives.

4. You have a lousy listing agent.   “Here’s what I can get for you if you list with me!”  That’s the cry of a lousy listing agent.  Bad advice can cost you time, money and buyers when your property is not priced and marketed correctly.

5. You are combating competition and/or market conditions.   Is it a “buyer’s market” or “seller’s market”?  Market conditions are affected by all kinds of forces, most are unpredictable and unavoidable, and include: weather, economy, interest rates, and the public’s sentiment about the current real estate market.  In a hot seller’s market, homes sell quickly, inventory is low, and there is less competition.  Chances are you will get your price, terms and conditions.  In a buyer’s market, homes sell more slowly, inventory is high, and there is more competition.  Chances are the buyer will dictate the price, terms and conditions of sale.

6. You have ineffective marketing.   Gone are the days of simple marketing – that is – putting your home in the MLS, putting up a sign and running an occasional ad – all the while hoping that your home will sell.  Today, a multilevel marketing plan is needed that includes e-mail promotion, Internet listings, newspaper advertising, open houses, listing fliers to agents, ads in local/national real estate magazine.  And, the Internet has changed the way buyers search for a home.  What you need today is a “marketing agent”, not a “listing agent”.

9 Ways to Avoid Getting Burned When Buying Waterfront Property

Study Results – The Longer A Home Is On The Market The Lower The Sales Price

Real estate agents tell sellers that homes sell for the most amount of money when they first come to market.  It’s a canned phrase that almost all agents mutter to sellers during their listing presentations.  I can now tell sellers with conviction having the knowledge from conducting a study that it’s true.

To prove to myself – and to sellers – that the longer a home is on the market the less it sells for, I decided to conduct a study of homes sold in Anne Arundel County Maryland and Annapolis Maryland.  I collected all the sales data for homes sold in Anne Arundel County during 2010 and separately collected sales data for just for Annapolis for the same period.  I used the multiple listing service (the “MLS”) to gather together sales data for each home sold during the period.  Three three pieces of data extracted from the MLS were: Original List Price, Sold Price, and Days On Market Property.  The importance of using Days On Market Property instead of Days On Market Market is that it gives a more accurate picture of those how long a home as been on the market, especially if it was listed then expired or was withdrawn and subsequently relisted.

The two graphs below depict the ratio between the original asking price (not the last listed price!) and sold price.  You can see for yourself in the graphs for Anne Arundel County and Annapolis, that homes sell closest to 100% of their initial asking price within the first few days and weeks that they are on the market.  As times passes, the Sold-to-Original-List Ratio declines.  The RED trend line in the two graphs shows the decline over time in the Sold-to-Original-List Ratio.

I found it very interesting that the two trend lines have nearly the same slope DOWNWARD – so interesting that I printed the graphs on paper and put the two pages one over the top and held them up to the light to confirm that the trend was essentially the same.

It’s clear that in Anne Arundel County sellers who improperly price their homes won’t get that price and will end up have to sell for less.  It was also interesting to see that some sellers got more than 100% of their initial asking price and that happens very early on.  That means that when those properties came to market buyers were ready to pay the asking price and more!  So even in the buyer’s market of 2010, some homes were selling above their asking price and buyers were probably competing with each other for the homes driving the price up.

The power of proper price positioning means getting the asking price right sooner rather than later.  As days on market increases, buyers will pass up a home often because it’s been on market so long.  For example, I recently showed buyers a home that had been on the market for 1,425 days (that’s 3.9 years!!!) and “what’s wrong with this home?” was the question they asked.  It’s almost always one of three things: price, condition or location.  In this case it was probably priced incorrectly from the beginning and the sellers were holding out hope that someone was going to stumble along and over pay for their home – doubtful.

In summary, homes sell in Anne Arundel County and Annapolis Maryland for the most amount of money in the first few days and weeks that they are on the market.  Proper price positioning on day one of the listing translates into short market times and more money in a seller’s pocket.  Failing to price reposition quickly if there’s no traffic and/or no offers can cost sellers increasing market time and lowering the final sales price.

Riva Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale - July 2011

Waterfront cottages and estates alike line the Northern shore of the South River in Riva Maryland.  Located in central Maryland, the area is known for it’s tranquil country-side as well as it’s wealth of history, culture and eloquence.  Riva is located close to downtown Annapolis with its nightlife and trendy shopping, a short drive to Baltimore-Washington International airport with domestic and international service, and within easy commuting distance to downtown Washington DC and the heart of Baltimore City.

There are 24 Riva waterfront homes for sale today. The average asking price is $712,483 and they have been on the market an average of 105 days. The minimum asking price for active listings is $185,000, with a maximum asking price of $1,950,000, and the median asking price is $512,000. For the list of Riva Maryland waterfront homes for sale click here.

There are 7 waterfront properties under contract in Riva today. The average asking price is $440,614 and they have been on the market an average of 78 days. The minimum asking price for listings under contract is $299,900, with a maximum asking price of $649,000, and the median asking price is $440,614. For the list of waterfront homes under contract in Riva click here.

In the last 90 days there have been 4 waterfront home sold in Riva Maryland. The asking price was $487,472 and they have been on the market an average of 17 days.  The minimum asking price for sold listings was $235,000, with a maximum asking price of $669,888, and the median asking price of $522,500.

The average sold price for Riva waterfront homes was $458,750 for a 94.27% sold-to-list ratio from their original listing price and a 94.27% sold-to-list ratio from the list price at the time of the sale (the same, therefore no price reductions during the period they were actively listed). The minimum sold price was $235,000, with a maximum sold price of $482,500, and the median sold price was $458,750. For the list of waterfront homes sold in the last 90 days in Riva Maryland click here.

With only 4 waterfront home selling in the last 90 days in Riva Maryland, there is a 18 month inventory of homes for sale on the water. This really is a remarkable time for qualified buyers to consider buying waterfront property because:

• Riva Waterfront homes are very affordable right now
• Interest rates are low even on jumbo mortgages
• Excellent financing options are available for qualifying buyers
• Timing is everything when it comes to finding just the right Riva waterfront venue
• Waterfront home ownership is still the everyone’s dream

NOTE: All data as of July 24, 2011.

Related Blog Posts:

We’re Not Sitting On Any Fences!

Waterfront Home for Sale – 809 Bay View Drive, Deale, Maryland, 20751

For Sale – 7760 Glen Avenue Pasadena Maryland 21122 (AA7541154)

Annapolis Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale

Arnold Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale

Crownsville Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale – July 2011

Severna Park Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale

9 Ways to Avoid Getting Burned When Buying Waterfront Property

Questions and Answers: What are Riparian Rights?

Questions and Answers: On Waterfront Homes Which Side Is The Front?

Water Access, Water View, Waterfront … What’s the Difference?

Annapolis Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale - July 2011

The prevailing breeze on the Chesapeake Bay is usually from the South West – cooling this time of year when the mercury rises above 90.  At the end of Narragansett Avenue in Arundel On The Bay in Annapolis Maryland you will find the South Eastern most point in Annapolis Maryland.  These homes are open to summer bay breezes and have an expansive view encompassing everything from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to a flotilla of boating traffic on the South River.  On a clear day you can see nearly all the way to Rock Hall and down to Bloody Point on the Eastern Shore and points in between on Kent Island which is about five miles across the Bay.

There are 171 Annapolis waterfront homes for sale today.  The average asking price is $1,478,554 and they have been on the market an average of 177 days.  The minimum asking price for active listings is $225,000, with a maximum asking price of $8,500,000, and the median asking price is $999,999.  For the list of Annapolis Maryland waterfront homes for sale click here.

There are 20 waterfront properties under contract in Annapolis today.  The average asking price is $1,157,687 (78% or 22% lower than the average asking price of those homes for sale) and have been on the market an average of 146 days.  The minimum asking price for listings under contract is $339,000, with a maximum asking price of $6,495,000, and the median asking price is $844,950.  For the list of waterfront homes under contract in Annapolis click here.

In the last 90 days there were 29 waterfront homes sold in Annapolis Maryland.  The average asking price was $1,047,341 (84% or 26% lower than the average asking price of those homes under contract and 70.8% lower than those homes actively for sale) and were on the market an average of 143 days.  The minimum asking price for sold listings was $399,500, with a maximum asking of $3,750,000, and the median asking price was $849,000.

The average sold price for Annapolis waterfront homes was $974,042 for a 93.0% sold-to-list ratio.  The minimum sold price was $385,500, with a maximum sold price of $3,400,000, and the median sold price was $800,000.  For the list of waterfront homes sold in the last 90 days in Annapolis Maryland click here.

With 9.7 waterfront homes selling each month in Annapolis Maryland, there is a 17.6 month inventory of homes for sale on the water.  This really is a remarkable time for qualified buyers to consider buying waterfront property because:

• Annapolis waterfront homes are very affordable right now
• Interest rates are low even on jumbo mortgages
• Excellent financing options are available for qualifying buyers
• Timing is everything when it comes to finding just the right Annapolis waterfront venue
• Waterfront home ownership is still the everyone’s dream

NOTE: All data as of July 19, 2011.

Related Blog Posts:

We’re Not Sitting On Any Fences!

Waterfront Home for Sale – 809 Bay View Drive, Deale, Maryland, 20751

For Sale – 7760 Glen Avenue Pasadena Maryland 21122 (AA7541154)

Arnold Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale

Crownsville Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale

Severna Park Maryland Waterfront Homes For Sale

9 Ways to Avoid Getting Burned When Buying Waterfront Property

Questions and Answers: What are Riparian Rights?

Questions and Answers: On Waterfront Homes Which Side Is The Front?

Water Access, Water View, Waterfront … What’s the Difference?