Active Smart Charts Feed Data Live from Bright MLS

Real estate is always in flux. The market is changing hourly, with properties listed and going under contract in a constant churn. How does a buyer or seller keep up with the trends in the market and get a feel for the landscape? Here are a few live charts that can help put it all in perspective.

First, all of these charts show activity over the past two years. That’s long enough to see trends and see how COVID-19 influenced the real estate market.

Second, the data is by county. In the Baltimore-Washington D.C. Metro area, county usually matters more than town. I hold a Maryland real estate license and live in Annapolis, so Anne Arundel County is my bullseye, and my business tends to radiate from there toward Ft. Meade (at the intersection of Howard County, Anne Arundel County, and Prince George’s County) and to areas commutable to other military bases around D.C., since many of my clients are in the military. If you’re looking for data for other counties, such as Queen Anne, Baltimore, and Calvert, I can provide that too.

Active Listings

This chart shows the number of homes available for sale. The trend line for all counties has declined since November 2019, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens this year. Declining inventory coupled with low interest rates often pushes prices up. Interest rates have been trending up, but demand is still high. Will supply level out?

Median Sale Price

Median sale price gives a buyer or seller an idea of the direction the market is headed. Are prices rising, leveling off, or falling? Viewed over a few years we can see what influence seasonality has on price also.

Months of Supply

Lack of inventory has been the big story for the past few years. Generally, less than a three-month supply of homes on the market is considered a seller’s market, that is, the seller has the upper hand in negotiation. Inventory has been in short supply, particularly in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties for years, and counties like Anne Arundel and Carroll which don’t normally feel such stress have recently. Let’s see how 2022 plays out.

Sale Price vs. List Price

Where normally there is some variation, in April 2020 and for several months after all counties were in agreement. Sale price has equaled or exceeded list price consistently for the past few years. This trend coincided with the lack of inventory during the summer and fall months and showed up in the form of multiple offers and escalation clauses.

What’s To Come in ‘22?

The big story of 2022 will be inventory. Will new builds catch up? Will potential sellers come out of hibernation in the spring and finally make a move, freeing up some inventory? Will multi-generational living become a more popular option, freeing up some single-family homes?

These charts will update as new data is posted, so pay attention to the two year look back and trends as time goes on.