As 2023 began, so did some surprising new trends in the Southern Maryland housing market. Prices began to decrease in most jurisdictions, while homes are staying on the market for longer than many recent potential buyers have seen.
Looking at the most recently available year-over-year data from the Southern Maryland Association of Realtors®, several clear trends emerged last month. Buyers are gaining more traction in the market while competing with depleted buying power, and shifts in demand have influenced the homes currently for sale.
Active listings increased roughly 94.5% from this time last year, and the total units sold saw a sharp decrease. 281 units sold last month across Southern Maryland, a decrease of 33.25% from 2022. However, more new listings came on the market last month, up 9.87% from 2022.
Also, homes are staying on the market for longer, and prices are starting to decline slightly for the first time in years.
Homes had spent an average of 41 days on the market in Southern Maryland last month, an increase of 21 days from 2022. Homes haven’t been on the market for this long since early-2019.
The median and average sold prices saw slight drops of 1.32% and 0.70%, respectively. Homes in Charles County still saw marginal price increases not exceeding 2% but were the only county in the region going up.
However, one of the best indicators that buyers are getting more control in transactions comes from the average sold price to the original list price ratio. Homes sold on average for 96.8% of what they were listed for in January, which is down from roughly 99.9% in 2022. Where buyers were previously paying close to and over list price are now seeing many sellers offer concessions.
“The market over the past few years has not been sustainable, and we are starting to see some of that dial back,” SMAR 2022-23 President Michael Funk said. “We know that we have been plagued with lacking inventory and a severe shortage of housing units in Maryland for years, and it is only getting worse. Seeing buyers get back some control during the transaction after seeing their buying power weakened helps create a healthier housing market.”
Housing market statistics from each county in the Southern Maryland region can be found below:
Calvert County
- Units Sold: 70 (-40.68%)
- Total Sales Volume: $ 31,446,576 (-41.44%)
- Average Days On The Market: 38 (+12 Day from January 2022)
- Median Sold Price: $392,500 (-5.99%)
Charles County
- Units Sold: 135 (-31.82%)
- Total Sales Volume: $ 56,919,599 (-29.72%)
- Average Days On The Market: 39 (+22 Days from January 2022)
- Median Sold Price: $389,885 (+1.93%)
St. Mary’s County
- Units Sold: 76 (-27.62%)
- Total Sales Volume: $ 27,386,321 (-29.05%)
- Average Days On The Market: 46 (+28 Days from January 2022)
- Median Sold Price: $342,500 (-3.52%)
Visit https://www.southernmarylandrealtors.org/pages/housing-statistics/ every month for additional details about the housing market in Southern Maryland.
Statistics for this article were compiled with cooperation from Bright MLS, a leading housing market data source and a real estate listing service for Realtors® throughout the region.