Howard County, MD, March 2024 - As the Howard County housing market settled into the new calendar year, the trend of declining market activity continued. January 2024 data shows there is some life; however, activity is slow in comparison to January 2023 with a 9.9 percent decrease in home sales, according to the Howard County Association of REALTORS® (HCAR), which released its January 2024 Housing Report on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
According to HCAR, in January 2024, the median sold price for residential homes in Howard County was $517,000, representing a decrease of 2.5 percent compared to the previous month, and an increase of 10 percent from January 2023.
Typically, a market with between four and five months of supply indicates a balanced housing market. Currently, there is 0.70 months of supply in Howard County which is higher than a year ago (0.64). The months-of-supply metric is based on average sales activity over the past 12 months. This measure can overstate how rapidly inventory is being consumed in a changing housing market.
New listings were down 20.2 percent (215) from last year (257), and up 55.3 percent from the previous month (132). The average days on market for units sold was 20 days, which is a 23.1 percent decrease from the same time last year (26) and 27 percent below the five-year January average of 27 days.
Active listings in Howard County were down 11.8 percent (195) compared to the previous year (221). Closed sales (155) saw a 9.9 percent decrease compared to the previous year (172) and a 36.7 percent decrease compared to the previous month (245).
There was a 19.4 percent month-over-month (MoM) increase in new contract activity with 215 new pendings; an 18.3 percent MoM increase in all pendings (new contracts + contracts carried over from December) to 291; and a 4.4 percent increase in supply to 195 active units.
This activity resulted in a Contract Ratio of 1.49 pendings per active listing, up from 1.21 in December 2023 and an increase from 1.38 in January 2023. The contract ratio is 16 percent lower than the five-year January average of 1.77.
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. A lower Contract Ratio signifies a relative decrease in contract activity compared to supply, and indicates the market is moving in the buyer'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.
Visit www.hcar.org for more information.
More about the Howard County Association of REALTORS®
The Howard County Association of REALTORS® is fortunate enough to represent over 2,000 real estate professionals in Howard County. HCAR’s mission is to advance Howard County’s real estate industry by shaping public policy on real property issues; and encouraging, promoting, and teaching consistent standards for ethical practice and professionalism for our REALTOR® members.
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