Published: September 11, 2006 12:11 pm         

Realtor says it's a buyers' market

OAKLAND - Though it is not as drastic a change as elsewhere in the country, the Garrett County real estate market is definitely seeing signs of a downturn.

"We may be entering a buyers' market, instead of a sellers' market," Frederick Washburn, president of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, said. "It's happening all over the country. We are noticing the trend, but it is nowhere near the difference that other areas have experienced, particularly the coasts."

Washburn said that in Garrett County, homes for sale still have an average stay on the market of 180 days, though there has been a trend with homes staying a little longer. However, he said that it has been noted that there are fewer multiple offers on properties.

Even with the construction of new homes, there has been a slight decrease from previous years. There are 230 units that have been given building permits for new construction this year up until August, in comparison to 249 from last year and 276 from two years ago.

This change is not drastic, John Nelson, director of planning and zoning, said.

"It's staying pretty close to historically what they have been," Nelson said. "Permits are staying on par."

The percentage as well as the number of single-family homes being constructed has decreased. There are 182 this year as of August, with 199 last year. Compare this to 2003, when there were 226 single-family homes, making up 96 percent of the residential permits.

Though numbers may have gone down, this does not mean that the estimated value of the homes has decreased, with the average single- family home costing about $36,000 more than in 2005, and $31,000 more than in 2004.

Washburn said that he believes this change is due to a difference in the demographics of those purchasing homes.

"A few years ago, we had a number of investors who bought properties, held onto them for a year or two and sold them in order to make a profit," Washburn said. "I think, by now, they are gone."

He believes the peak in the market was in October last year, and that this downward pattern was something that the Realtors in the area have been noticing since then, even at nearby markets like that of Alpine Lake.

Despite this, Washburn said that he does not expect Garrett County or the area around Deep Creek Lake to ever drop as drastically as places like Northern Virginia, where the sellers' market has hit a definite slump.

"Our area is fairly family-oriented," he said, "and that continues to be our largest draw and largest market, families coming here, interested in buying a vacation home. As long as that is true, the investors may go, but the market will still be there."

Sarah Moses can be reached at smoses@times-news.com.