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Business & Tech

Montgomery County In Top Five Most Promising Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Markets

Median home sale prices remain close to 2010 level of $345,000.

Real estate values place Montgomery County among the "Top Five Most Promising Counties" in the Washington metropolitan area on a list released last week by the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, the online real estate listing service.

The list is compiled using annual median prices in the Mid-Atlantic region served by MRIS. Counties that showed an upswing or stabilization in the median home sales price made the list.

“It’s been a very strong spring market,” said Judi Casey, a real estate agent at , who has represented properties in Rockville and Potomac for six years. “Prices have rebounded very well. Part is because of the reputation of the schools and part is that the unemployment rate in our little pocket is significantly lower than in other areas.”

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The median home sales price in Montgomery County remains close to the 2010 level of $345,000.

Three Virginia counties saw median sales prices in the first five months of 2011: Prices in Alexandria City increased by 3.6 percent. Arlington County median sales prices increased 2.9 percent. Fairfax County saw a small positive change.

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Washington, DC also made the top five due to a 1.4 percent increase.

“For 2011 as a year, we’re at a median of 41 days on the market in Montgomery County. In 2008, the median was 71 days," said Margaret O’Sullivan, vice president at RealEstate Business Intelligence, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MRIS and the primary source of the data and analytics for the study. "Back in 2004 and 2005, the median days on the market for Montgomery County was 10 days. So there is room for improvement.”

The median number of days in the market for the entire Mid-Atlantic region—including Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, and markets in Pennsylvania and West Virginia—is currently 40 days, according to the MRIS report. The median number of days for the counties included on the list ranges from 18 to 29. “Things are stable and getting better,” O’Sullivan said.

“If a property is in good condition and well priced, it will sell,” Casey said.

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