Maryland Market Update December 2020

The Maryland Market Update for December 2020 shows a strong market due to tight inventory and low interest rates. Maryland’s December housing market ended the year with strong sales volume and an increase in average sales prices. increased 11.2%.

The Maryland market update shows that the December housing market ended the year with a 22.8% increase in sales over 2019. Average sales prices rose 12.8% and median sales prices increased 11.2%. Months of inventory statewide dropped even further from November 2020’s 1.2 to 1.0 for December. New listings rose from 5,126 in 2019 to 6,515 in 2020. However, this is a 43.1% decrease in the number of new listings from October 2020.

It is interesting to see what the economists were predicting in February 2020 for the remainder of the year. Interest rates were expected to remain in the mid to high 3% range. Inventory and sales were projected to be stable. Home appreciation was predicted to be around 3-4%.

A shrinking inventory base remains the primary concern. While months of inventory started falling before the pandemic, the recession that followed did not cause a distressed seller’s inventory. Instead, sales have soared, and inventory has tightened.

“While Maryland on average has one month of inventory available, in many areas of the state it’s less than that,” said Dee Dee Miller, President, Maryland REALTORS®. “Several counties are even below one month. Carroll County’s December sales were more than 30% higher than last year, but the county only has a little over two weeks inventory remaining. Every county needs additional homes on the market. This inventory needs to come from sellers, as new home construction will not come soon enough to address this situation. Maryland REALTORS® is committed to finding solutions to the shortage of housing, which has a direct negative impact on affordability and the attainment of the American Dream.”

Maryland monthly housing statistics are compiled by data as reported by MRIS/Bright MLS. For the purposes of this report, “units” are defined as the closed sales and “pending units” are properties under contract. Months of inventory are based on the current active inventory and monthly sales for the corresponding month.

NOTE: UNITS ARE THE “UNITS” SOLD, PENDING ARE UNDER CONTRACT.

*Months of inventory based on current active inventory and monthly sales for the corresponding month; Data are revised on a regular basis. Readers of these reports should note that older reports have not been adjusted to reflect these revised data. This report, however, contains the latest reliable data to date.

**Maryland REALTORS® publishes the Maryland Housing Statistics monthly; it is available through the Association’s website, www.mdrealtor.org.