MAY 2016
March numbers show increase in contracts
The inaugural 2016 Coastal Association of Realtors Technology Fair was held on Thursday, April 21 at The Fountains Wedding & Conference Center in Salisbury.
Realtors see latest in tech ware First event attended by real estate pros from across state
Salisbury, Md. — The Coastal Association of Realtors (CAR) held its inaugural 2016 Technology Fair on Thursday, April 21 at The Fountains Wedding & Conference Center in Salisbury. The event featured more than 20 vendors and 17 workshops and training opportunities designed to help real estate professionals better serve their clients and be more successful. More than 120 real estate professionals, both locally and statewide, attended the event. Drawings were held for several door prizes. Cam Bunting of Bunting Real Estate in Berlin won an Incipio Ghost 220 Qi Wireless Charging Base, Jennifer Hooper of Coldwell Banker in Salisbury won a Go Pro Hero,
and Colleen Lowe of Long & Foster in Severna Park won an Apple iPad Air 2. Attendees who complete a post-event survey will be entered to win a free three-day registration to the Maryland Association of Realtors Annual Conference in September in Ocean City. The event’s Terabyte Sponsors were Comcast Spotlight, Top Producer, and Zillow Group. The Gigabyte Sponsor was Fine Line Websites & IT Consulting, and the Megabyte Sponsors were Capitol Title, Chesapeake Utilities, Insurance Management Group, and Showing Time. Additional vendors were Aero Energy, American Home Shield, Atrix Sustainable Solutions, Coastal Hospice, D3 Corp, Esham Inspections, Eyewear Wardrobe, McCarthy Imagerie, Mid Atlantic Settlement Services, New Age
Production & Marketing, OC Today/Bayside Gazette, Real Estate Title & Escrow, Salisbury Independent, and Spot Doctor. Following the event, CAR’s monthly business card exchange was held at the Lagoon Bar & Grille. These events are networking opportunities for the membership, as well as a fundraiser for Coastal Hospice at the Ocean. The 50/50 raffle held during the event raised $210. CAR is collecting 50/50 raffle proceeds from these events for the entire year and will donate the total to Coastal Hospice in September. “Our first Technology Fair was a great success thanks to our sponsors and the hard work of the CAR Technology Committee and staff,” said CAR President Linda Moran. “We look forward to holding this valuable event for many years to come.
SHMS student poster contest winner Lower Eastern Shore, Md. – In recognition of April being Fair Housing Month, the Coastal Association of Realtors (CAR) has announced that Lindsay Birkhead-Morton of Snow Hill Middle School was a statewide winner in the annual Maryland Association of Realtors (MAR) Fair Housing Calendar Contest. Birkhead-Morton was one of three local finalists. The other two were Ayati Sangwan of North Salisbury Elementary School and LaNazia Goeins of Princess Anne Elementary School. Each received a Visa gift card from CAR and their submissions were forwarded to MAR for statewide judging.
Submissions from all over Maryland were judged on March 8 by MAR’s Equal Opportunity and Cultural Diversity Committee. In total, MAR chose 15 winners to be featured in its 2017 Fair Housing Calendar, which is distributed statewide. Birkhead-Morton has been invited to the State House in Annapolis for an April 19 recognition ceremony with Ken Holt, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Community Development. Representatives from CAR will accompany her to the ceremony. “We are so proud of Lindsay’s accomplishment and grateful for her participation in the See FAIR page 8
Berlin, Md. – Increased contracts in all three counties on the Lower Eastern Shore reflect a busy start to the spring real estate market, according to the latest figures from the Coastal Association of Realtors (CAR). CAR’s local housing statistics for March 2016 showed an overall 14 percent increase in contracts, or pending sales, in Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties, compared to the same time last year. Individually, single-family home sales in Worcester County increased by 9 percent, increased by 18.3 percent in Wicomico County, and remained steady in Somerset County. Condominium contracts increased by 9.1 percent in Worcester County, by 175 percent in Wicomico County, and by 200 percent in Somerset County. Settlements were largely down, compared to the same time last year, with the exception of a 16.7 percent increase in condominium settlements in Wicomico County. Days on market showed
an overall decrease of 16.4 percent. Local inventory increased by 5.4 percent. Listing and sales prices were down by 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, compared to February. “The increase in contracts points to a very busy start to the spring season for our members,” said CAR President Linda Moran. “Those contracts will translate into settlements in the coming months, and more contract starts will be reflected as optimal weather for showing properties sets in for the summer. “Also look for condominium activity to continue increasing as more folks visit the area and decide this is a wonderful place for a second home or investment property.” CAR’s monthly local housing statistics are pulled from the association’s Multiple Listing Service, which represents the activity of over 1,000 local Realtors in Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties. Visit www.coastalrealtors.org for more information.