Frederick County, Maryland
After median house prices zoomed past $200,000 in 2004 and rose to more than $300,000 in 2005, Frederick County's frenzied real estate market has cooled down.
In 2006, the median home sales price was $331,500, up 8 percent from 2005, according to a Washington Post analysis of single-family house and townhouse sales recorded in the county. Condominium sales were not included.
Unlike in other nearby counties, the number of sales in Frederick County grew slightly, to 3,988.
"Overall, the Frederick County market is going through a correctional period after a few years of abnormal activity," said Terry Fox, president of the Frederick County Association of Realtors. "I don't think the bottom is falling out."
About half of sales last year were in Zip code 21701 in the city of Frederick. Those houses sold for a median price of $312,000 and mirror the 8 percent rise in prices throughout the county.
"This includes the historic area, which has always been very stable. The market in that area is very, very strong," Fox said.
Small pockets of the county experienced large gains. These were in areas with the lowest prices.
For example, in the town of Brunswick, Zip code 21716, founded in 1890 along the Potomac River and 15 miles from the West Virginia border, house prices rose 39 percent, to $256,250 from $185,000. While most houses there are more than 50 years old, small developments are selling for more than $360,000.
Similarly, in Emmitsburg, Zip code 21727, in the northern end of the county along the Pennsylvania border, the median price rose 22 percent, to $250,000.
With new single-family houses and townhouses springing up on former fields in Frederick's Zip code 21703, it is easy to see why more than twice as many homes were sold there in 2006 as 2005, and at a 25 percent increase in median price.
But some higher-cost areas of the county lost value.
In Middletown, Zip code 21769, prices fell 5 percent, to $380,000. Prices in Monrovia, Zip code 21770, dipped 4 percent, to $429,950.
"I don't think there's anything to be alarmed about," Fox said. "Sales are still strong in close-in communities. They are just normalizing now."
-- Barbara Ruben, Special to The Washington Post
In 2006, the median home sales price was $331,500, up 8 percent from 2005, according to a Washington Post analysis of single-family house and townhouse sales recorded in the county. Condominium sales were not included.
"Overall, the Frederick County market is going through a correctional period after a few years of abnormal activity," said Terry Fox, president of the Frederick County Association of Realtors. "I don't think the bottom is falling out."
About half of sales last year were in Zip code 21701 in the city of Frederick. Those houses sold for a median price of $312,000 and mirror the 8 percent rise in prices throughout the county.
"This includes the historic area, which has always been very stable. The market in that area is very, very strong," Fox said.
Small pockets of the county experienced large gains. These were in areas with the lowest prices.
For example, in the town of Brunswick, Zip code 21716, founded in 1890 along the Potomac River and 15 miles from the West Virginia border, house prices rose 39 percent, to $256,250 from $185,000. While most houses there are more than 50 years old, small developments are selling for more than $360,000.
Similarly, in Emmitsburg, Zip code 21727, in the northern end of the county along the Pennsylvania border, the median price rose 22 percent, to $250,000.
With new single-family houses and townhouses springing up on former fields in Frederick's Zip code 21703, it is easy to see why more than twice as many homes were sold there in 2006 as 2005, and at a 25 percent increase in median price.
But some higher-cost areas of the county lost value.
In Middletown, Zip code 21769, prices fell 5 percent, to $380,000. Prices in Monrovia, Zip code 21770, dipped 4 percent, to $429,950.
"I don't think there's anything to be alarmed about," Fox said. "Sales are still strong in close-in communities. They are just normalizing now."
-- Barbara Ruben, Special to The Washington Post
Housing Outlook 2007
The latest on the state of the Washington, D.C., residential real estate market.
How Much For That House?
What can you afford in today's market? We scan properties for sale in and around D.C.
SOURCE: Full-value transactions as reported by the state
MAP: Dan Keating and Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso - The Washington Post
© 2007 The Washington Post Company
