Real Estate
DECEMBER 2018
THE COASTAL REAL ESTATE RESOURCE Coastal Association of Realtors/Ocean City Today
Interest rate shifts could drive sales Slower September noted in lower three counties
Linda Moran, right, of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty presents the Coastal Association of Realtors 2018 Realtor of the Year Award to Grace Masten of Sea Grace at North Beach Realtors.
Coastal Director Austin Whitehead of Whitehead Real Estate Executives presents the Coastal Association of Realtors 2018 Rising Star Award to Kristy Thomas of Coldwell Banker Residential.
Coastal President-Elect Joe Wilson of Coastal Life Realty Group presents the Coastal Association of Realtors 2018 Outstanding Achievement Award to Vicki Harmon of Coldwell Banker Residential 120th Street.
Susan Lloyd of Mid-Atlantic Settlement Services presents the Coastal Association of Realtors 2018 Outstanding Affiliate Award to Rick Proctor of Freedmont Mortgage.
Realtors, affiliates honors presented Masten recognized as CAR Realtor of Year, Moran earns Lifetime Achievement Award
Cam Bunting, right, of Bunting Real Estate presents the Coastal Association of Realtors 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award to Linda Moran of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty.
(Lower Eastern Shore, Md.) The Coastal Association of Realtors (Coastal) recognized its 2018 award winners during a special ceremony on Monday, Oct. 24, at Dunes Manor Hotel & Suites in Ocean City. Rick Proctor of Freedmont Mortgage in Ocean City received the Outstanding Affiliate Award. Proctor served this year as chair of the Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC) Task Force and was an active participant in the association’s legislative advocacy efforts. He visited numerous member offices to discuss RPAC and also traveled to Annapolis and Washington, D.C. to represent the association in meetings with state and national legislators. See ANNUAL on page 4
(Lower Eastern Shore, Md.) Local market activity continues to fall behind last year’s numbers, according to the September 2018 housing reports from the Coastal Association of Realtors. New listings that went on the market in September were down 7.1 percent and total active listings were down 24.4 percent compared to the same time last year in Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties. That translates to 559 new listings and 3,132 active listings. Individually, available housing units were up by 8.7 percent in Worcester County, and were down by 31 percent in Wicomico and by 15 percent in Somerset. Sales that made it to the settlement table in September were down by 20.3 percent overall compared to the same time last year, with Worcester seeing a 22 percent drop, Wicomico a 19.7 percent drop and Somerset a 5 percent drop. Year-to-date settlements were down overall by 5.7 percent. Individually, Somerset was up by 4.6 percent, while Worcester was down by 7.6 percent and Wicomico was down by 5.4 percent. Listing prices continued to rise throughout the month, reaching a median price of $164,900 in all three counties, which is 10 percent higher than the same time last year. The median sale price, however, was $145,000, which is 6.4 percent lower than the same time last year. The overall cumulative days on market was 75.25, which is 22 percent lower than the same time last year. “We’ve been seeing very similar trends each month for the past several months – low inventory, higher prices, less settlements,” said Coastal President Joel Maher. “However, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a shift in October’s market, given the recent interest rate increase that could prompt buyers to act now before the rates get even higher.” Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), said in a recent report that rising interest rates are not expected to have negative impact on the national real estate market. See INTEREST on page 3