[RBI PHSI] Baltimore Metro Area 3-2011 – Contract Activity Surged Ahead of Weak Prices
Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Monday, April 11, 2011, 10:00 AM
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I am reporting on the DC and Baltimore metro area housing markets in addition to our NYC metro area market research – for RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI), the research, analytics arm of MRIS, the largest MLS in the country.
Using the robust data RBI manages for its customers, I created a pending home sale index for the both the Baltimore and Washington, DC metro area housing markets that is released 10 days after the close of each period, about 3 weeks before the NAR pending home sale index covering the same period.
Here is one of the key results of the April 10th 2011 Baltimore report:
Pending home sales surge to highest March total since 2007, just above the decade average. There were 2,857 signed contracts between buyers and sellers in March, 33.1% more than were signed in February and 3.2% more than were signed in March 2010. Pending sales activity at this time last year was fueled by the nearing expiration of the federal homebuyers tax credit the following month. The expiration of the credit led to depressed sales activity for the balance of 2010. The recent jump in pending sales activity has the potential to stabilize prices during the spring.
RBI Pending Home Sales Index™ [Baltimore Metro] [Web]
