Howard County, MD, April 2022 - Home sales prices in Howard county continued to rise in March as tight supply of available homes and strong demand showed no signs of letting up, according to the Howard County Association of REALTORS® (HCAR). The median sales price for homes in Howard City was $522,500, representing an increase of 20.1 percent compared to the previous month and an increase of 13.4 percent from this same time last year.

 

"Buyers in Howard County continue to see very little relief as housing demand remains high," said HCAR President Sarah Anderson. "We are still hopeful that more housing inventory will become available this spring and summer to relieve some of the pressure on buyers. Sellers continue to see record demand and sales prices."

 

During the month of March 2022, buyer demand continued to be high Howard County, with Savage, MD being the highest at an index of 294 and West Friendship, MD being the lowest at an index of 26. Howard County sellers typically got 103.5 percent of their asking price, as median sales prices marked a record of $522.5K.

 

The average sold price for residential properties in Howard County was $579,702, representing an increase of 13.2 percent compared to last month and an increase of 12.9 percent from March 2021. Closed sales (330) saw a 4.9 percent decrease compared to the previous year (347) and a 39.2 percent increase compared to the previous month (237). New residential listings (517) saw a 1.6 percent increase compared to the previous year (509) and a 68.4 percent increase compared to the previous month (307). Active listings (191) were down 3.5 percent compared to the previous year (198). The average days on market for units sold was 12 days, which is a 29.4 percent decrease from the same time last year (17) and 61 percent below the five-year March average of 31 days.

 

There was a 47.4 percent month over month (MoM) increase in new contract activity with 426 new pendings; a 15.9 percent MoM increase in all pendings (new contracts + contracts carried over from February) to 509; and a 50.4 percent increase in supply with 191 active units.

 

This activity resulted in a Contract Ratio of 2.66 pendings per active listing, down from 3.46 in February and a decrease from 3.07 in March 2021. The Contract Ratio is 52 percent higher than the five-year March average of 1.76. A higher Contract Ratio signifies a relative increase in contract activity compared to supply, and indicates the market is moving in the seller's favor.

 

HCAR’s monthly local housing statistics are pulled from the Bright Multiple Listing Service. The Bright MLS service area includes Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.