By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 February 5th, 2009 Category: Garrett County Real Estate

$15,000 Tax Credit

Last evening, the United States Senate passed the Isakson-Lieberman amendment to the pending economic stimulus bill that would create a $15,000 tax credit to any homebuyer that purchases a home in the next year. Purchases must be made within 1 year of enactment and unlike the $7,500 tax credit passed last year this credit will not have to be repaid.

Primary Residences Only

However, this credit is only for individuals purchasing a primary residence - it does not apply to someone buying a vacation home or rental property at Deep Creek Lake. And if the house is sold within the first two years the tax credit will be recaptured. Final details are still being worked out.

This is really good news for those individuals or couples looking to buy a principal residence or house for sale in Garrett County within the next year. This credit essentially puts an extra $15,000 in your pocket - money that could help with home repairs or renovations that may be needed or help out with closing costs.

Please give us a call or contact us if you thinking about buying a house or real estate for sale in the areas of Oakland Maryland, McHenry, Mountain Lake Park, Grantsville, Accident, or Friendsville. This pending legislation could make this a very advantageous time to buy a house. It may be a good time to start the home buying process. As the area’s market leader in real estate, we not only help clients looking to buy vacation and second homes, we also work with individuals buying their primary residences throughout Garrett County as well.

Follow Up - As of February 12, 2009 it appears that when the stimulus bill is finally signed into law that their will be an $8,000 credit for homebuyers purchasing a home between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009 - not $15,000. This $8,000 will not have to be repaid - it will be a true tax credit. Eventhough it’s not $15,000 - an $8,000 credit will certainly help anyone looking to purchase a primary residence this year.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 July 8th, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Wisp Real Estate

At the mid-point of 2008, once again the Deep Creek Lake Maryland real estate market is sending out mixed signals. However, the message is mostly the same - the number of sales continues to trend downward but the average sold price continues to climb. 

Residential Market Segment

Thru the first 6 months of 2008, 72 residential properties sold in the Deep Creek Lake area - this includes lakefront, lake access, lake view, and lake area residential houses and town homes/condos sold. These figures also include residential real estate at Wisp Ski Resort. This compares to 103 residential sales that occurred thru the first 6 months of 2007 - which is a decline of 31 properties sold.

On the bright side, the average sold price thru the first 6 months of 2008 for these 72 residential properties was $616,428 - this compares to an average sold price of $540,390 in 2007 at this point. On a wider level, Garrett County is one of only 3 counties in the entire state of Maryland where residential real estate values went up thus far in 2008. Other counties in the state are experiencing both decreases in the number of sales and prices upwards of 25-40%.

Lakefront Homes Still Going Strong

Clearly, the driver of the Deep Creek Lake market is once again the lakefront home segment. This segment clearly continues to outperform our other market segments. The values of many lakefront homes continue climb - albeit at a much more normalized rate than what we experienced earlier this decade. Even during what most consider a soft real estate market, the lakefront homes with good settings and quality features can still command a premium price. Interestingly enough, from a historical perspective the lakefront segment has always performed well. Many old time real estate professionals from the area will tell you that the lakefront homes have always held their value or even went up during other tough national economic times experienced in past - such as those in the 1970s and 1980s.

Lots and Land

The most disappointing segment of our current market continues to be the lot/land market. Only 33 lots in the Deep Creek Lake area have sold thru the first 6 months of 2008. This compares to 53 lots sold thru the first 6 months of 2007 - a decrease of 20 lots sold. The average sold price of a lake area lot is $191,226 thus far in 2008, which compares to $238,577 at this point in 2007. This is primarily due to an incredibly high inventory of lots for sale and decreased demand for these types of properties.

Impact on Buyers

If you are a potential buyer - now may be a good time to explore purchasing opportunities in this current market. With less buyers and demand in the overall market, your chances of obtaining more favorable terms (i.e. price) are greater than in the recent past. Plus the cost of borrowing money is still relatively low by historical standards. There are some pretty good “buys” out their right now.

Impact on Sellers

If you are a seller in this current market it all depends on your situation - if you are trying to sell a good, quality lakefront home with a good setting you’ll probably end up getting your offering price - assuming it’s priced correctly. If your setting or house is marginal you may need to further examine your current pricing strategy - or put some resources into boosting the “curb appeal” of your house. If you are trying to sell a lot - it will be tough for sure unless it’s priced at a very attractive level. It all depends though - we just sold a very unique lakefront building lot on Stockslager Road for $1,200,000. There are real estate buyers out their right now and they are willing to pay for quality- however most are now waiting to purchase until they find that exact house or lot they have been seeking out.

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By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 May 29th, 2008 Category: Garrett County News

After nearly 3 years of being under contract, the real estate developer who builds most of the Lowe’s Home Improvement Centers has finally closed on 23 acres of real estate just north of Oakland, Maryland on Route 219. Building crews have already started preparing the site for excavation and completion of the Lowe’s store is expected by Thanksgiving 2008. The 23 acres will also include 6 out parcels in front of the store along Rt. 219 whose use and occupants have yet to be determined.

It will be interesting to see what the eventual impact Lowe’s will have on Garrett County, Maryland as a whole and other related industries in this county such as real estate. With more competition  - will the cost to build a new home in Garrett County or at Deep Creek Lake go down any? Lowe’s will almost certainly put price pressure on the other suppliers of building materials in the area.

Will Lowe’s cause any existing businesses to eventually shut down? Maybe - but probably not. When Walmart moved to Garrett County earlier this decade the only big name company to go out of business was the local Food Lion grocery store. However, like Wal-mart - Lowe’s will probably cause sales to slow down or even decrease at some local businesses who sell the same products.

Many had predicted that Lowe’s would eventually land here in Garrett County as they tend to follow Wal-mart. Many citizens of the county were concerned before Wal-mart moved here and rightly so - this area had never experienced life with a big box retailer. The Wal-mart effect on Garrett County has been both good and bad - but mostly good. Bad in a way that it has certainly hurt some local family owned businesses - but good in a way that Wal-mart is now one of the area’s largest employers providing steady jobs with benefits to an area that certainly needs it - and also providing lower prices to local citizens. Overall most would say Wal-mart has had a positive impact - hopefully in the long run Lowe’s will be another asset to the county.