Despite high prices and low inventory, home sales in Carroll County rose in July

In a surprising twist, home sales in Carroll County rose more than 13% in July after months of poor sales, high prices and declining inventory.

The number of homes sold in Carroll County last month increased 13.5% compared to the same month in 2023, according to the latest statistics from Maryland REALTORS, a nonprofit real estate association that provides resources and support to real estate agents in the area. 202 homes were sold in the county last month, up from 178 in July of last year.

The average sales price for a home in Carroll is still high, increasing 14.2%, from $470,442 in July of last year to $537,212 last month.

At the same time, the number of homes for sale rose from 170 in July last year to 189 last month.

Terry Bass, president of Carroll County Realtors, said the drop in interest rates over the summer was the reason for the unexpected news.

“I think that's a good thing,” Bass said. “A lot of buyers have been holding back and waiting for interest rates to fall.”

On July 3, the interest rate on Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.95 percent. By August 1, rates had fallen to 6.73 percent, according to Maryland REALTORS.

In early April, interest rates in Maryland were 7.29 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and 7.21 percent for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, according to Bankrate, a New York-based consumer financial services company.

As the summer ended, Bass looked back at a housing market that was showing improvement after months of decline.

“I think it was actually stable all summer,” she said. “The summer ended much better than it did a year ago. When interest rates came down, that gave us a boost at the end of the summer.”

The real estate landscape is largely the same across the country. Home sales in Maryland increased 4.2% in July, from 6,204 homes sold in July 2023 to 6,462 last month, Maryland REALTORS said in a press release.

At the same time, pending sales soared, with 6,680 homes going under contract, an 8.8% increase from a year ago. The average sales price increased 5.7% to $512,266, while the median sales price increased 5.3% to $432,800.

At the same time, the lack of available homes continues to be an obstacle to home ownership. And with low inventory, sellers may receive multiple offers.

Last month, there were 208 homes for sale in Carroll, down from 225 a year ago.

In conclusion, Bass said it is impossible to predict how interest rates will move this fall because the Federal Reserve is weighing several economic factors.

“It's a crystal ball question,” she said. “It seems the government will take a close look at this in September, but who knows what will happen after that.”