As of the first quarter of 2009, the Baltimore metro area ranks 9th in the nation among the top 100 metro areas in terms of home price appreciation during the past 10 years.  This is a very positive trend for our region.

"Bizjournals analyzed data for the first quarter of 2009 collected by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which tracks millions of mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Those two corporations own or guarantee nearly half of all mortgages in the United States.

FHFA calculates quarterly price indexes for single-family homes in 384 metropolitan areas, based on repeat sales or refinancings of units within its database of 36 million houses. These indexes are not expressed in dollars, but are anchored to a 1995 benchmark of 100 points.

Bizjournals used FHFA’s indexes to calculate housing appreciation rates for the nation’s 100 largest metros, and to determine the years in which first-quarter values peaked in those areas. Every market in the study has a population greater than 600,000.

The study’s results reflect the widespread impact of the recession, with 77 of the top 100 markets registering lower housing prices in 2009 than in previous first quarters. They can be divided into three groups, depending on when their housing values crested."

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