Baltimore Grows

Today’s Baltimore Sun featured an article about how the declining real estate market has put some of the city’s most notable potential construction projects on hold.  While it’s true that many developers are truly bleeding, in Baltimore, it may not be as bleak as the Sun article made the situation out to be.  True, the projects that the Sun mentioned are stalled, however, most of them have been stalled for years, before the economy made a turn for the worse.  While developers across the country are abandoning projects, many of the projects in Baltimore will still happen, but just in a different format.  For instance, the Marketplace at Fells Point project was to originally contain a component of condominiums.  However, the developers are in the process of revising the PUD to include apartments in lieu of the originally planned condos.  All of this switching around requires approval by the neighborhood association, the architectural committee, the city…etc., and all of this takes TIME! 

 The good news is that there are many projects to keep our attention in the meanwhile.  Projects that have the city’s backing (usually in the form of incentives) like Harbor Point, Four Seasons/Legg Mason, Westport, West Side, and projects associated with institutions like Hopkins and University of Maryland, are still underway, and will drastically change the city’s landscape.  Ironically, it’s the privately funded projects that are taking a little time.  But there’s good news here too.  Insiders say that 10 Inner Harbor, which the Sun said was stalled, is still undergoing preconstruction work.  RWN, who owns the parcels on Guilford, isn’t letting the property rot.  They’re leasing out the old Hammerjacks as a new club called Bourbon Street Live.  Eventually, real estate will bounce back, and the financial institutions will start lending again.  Baltimore is in a good position for continued growth, but we must remain patient. 

That being said, growth is not always measured in gleaming condo towers. It is measured in reborn communities with rehabbed houses, new coffee shops, restaurants and stores…things which continue to pop up in Baltimore every day.   

The Baltimore Business Journal reported a 22% increase in home sales between February and March in the Baltimore Area…up 47% from January.  Perhaps this is a sign that the market has finally hit bottom.  Click here to read the full article.

Story from the City Paper Website

A multibillion-dollar Baltimore-based housing finance company appears to be in trouble. Municipal Mortgage and Equity LLC has seen its stock price drop by 80 percent over the past year or so, and in February the New York Stock Exchange delisted the stock. Shares now trade on the “pink sheets” over-the-counter market. Several class-action lawsuits have been filed against the company by shareholders, claiming securities fraud.

Many Locust Point residents are up in arms over Struever Brothers proposal to build a major new mixed use project at the Tide Point location.  Roughly 250 concerned residents showed up at last Wednesday’s special neighborhood meeting. Struever’s plan would have added up to 1,200 residential  units to Locust Point.  This would be in addition to the two large residential projects currently under way in the community - Silo Point and McHenry Row.  Based on the community outcry the plan has already been reduced in scale and is likely going back to the drawing board once again.

“..Struever Bros. has already agreed to significant reductions in the scope of its plans. Among them, the number of residential units was reduced from about 1,000 to 644 units, a 26-story building was scaled down to 15 stories and the amount of office space was reduced from about 300,000 square feet to about 200,000 square feet. ”

City Council Vice President Edward Reisinger, who represents South Baltimore, said he will not endorse the project as it stands now. “If you don’t want this to go through, it’s not going anywhere, it’ll die,” said Reisinger, chair of City Council’s land use committee. “I’m listening to you, and that is what’s going to happen.”

Recent Coverage from Baltimore Business Journal 3/6/08 and Baltimore Sun 2/29/08

I purchased a home in the Union Square/ Carrolton Ridge neigborhood about a year ago because of its proximity to downtown and all the major interstates.  Yeah, it was a diamond in the ruff but there are a number of rehabs going on in this area, the newest being my next door neighbor.  Aside from the Universtiy of Maryland Bio Park crossing over MLK, the 400k townhomes adjacent to the B&O railroad on West Pratt Street, is there anything else that I should be excited about purchasing my first home on the Westside of Baltimore City?  Are there some other projects that someone knows about that I don’t?  I’d love some feedback.

I just want to counter some other blogs out there that will have you believe that there’s a housing “bubble” going on and that house prices will decline: so don’t buy a house. Bullfeathers. OK, maybe that’s true in Florida and California, I don’t know. But it’s not true about Baltimore. A house is still one of the best investments you can make, period. If your credit is good and your income is steady, you shouldn’t be renting if you live and work in Baltimore and plan to live here for the foreseeable future. Interest rates are low and there’s a large housing inventory out there for you to choose from. If interest rates go up and house prices decline, are you in a better position? No- you’ll pay more for your mortgage and get less house. House prices aren’t going to decline much (if at all) but interest rates will go up someday. I’m not saying this just because I’m a real estate agent- I really believe it! Baltimore is a better deal than DC, IMHO. Buying a house protects you from inflation, and we’re in an inflationary fiscal environment right now. Also, there’s a feeling of security and pride in being a homeowner that can’t be measured in dollar terms.

OK- I’ve managed to convince you. What steps to take in buying a house?

1. Get pre-qualified. That means finding a lender and making sure your credit is good enough to get a mortgage. It also gets you thinking in terms of how much to spend. I’m conservative on this point- I don’t believe in throwing all your income into a mortgage. No matter how much you’re spending on rent, you can probably find something to buy at that level, or not much more.

2. Decide on the neighborhood. A lot of factors will go into this decision. Pick two or three.

3. Find a real estate agent and look at houses. Do you want a house in perfect condition, or do you have some cash that you can use to make repairs? If you’re willing to make significant repairs, you can save on price and get “sweat equity”.

4. Make an offer. I’m not scared of making a low-ball offer- that’s why I’m a good real estate agent to work with! Negotiate and get a housing inspection. At this point, even if the seller took your offer, you can still ask for repairs. I don’t know why you have to make an offer before the inspection; that seems a strange way to go about things, but I believe that even if your seller took your offer you can still negotiate at this point. I know we did!

5. Settle, get the keys, and move in! Paint the walls, get new windows, learn how to use the heater. You’re home.

This list isn’t meant to be official or anything, it’s just some ideas I have on the process. Comments and criticisms are welcome.

So I was reading Colleen’s blog - SoBoBlog - and very excited to hear that Ledo Pizza is apparently moving to Southside Shopping Center in Locust Point. For whatever reason my wife and I are addicted to their pizza. Maybe it’s because it’s square (how do they do that?), or maybe it’s the sauce… but nevertheless I’m pumped. My very own Ledo pizza within a couple blocks. I wonder if they will be able to acquire a liquor license for the location. Every Ledo’s I’ve ever been to serves beer & wine. But the shopping center may have restrictions because there isn’t currently any other businesses serving or selling alcohol. But that’s really not important - as long as they got the square pizza and big lasagna, I’m set. Another excuse for us not to have to cook. And yet another reason as Colleen discusses, is the opening of Luca’s Cafe on Fort Avenue. Luca’s - occupying the space that was formerly Truman’s Tavern - is serving pizza/Italian/American. Looks like eating in my area are is getting a lot better.

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Thanks to Kate for brining this article from the Daily Record to our attention.  Chinatown in Baltimore - sounds like a great idea.

When most people look at the area surrounding the intersection of North Charles Street and North Avenue, they see vacant row houses, a few large condemned buildings, a fried chicken restaurant and cracked, buckling pavement.

When Tony Cheng looked at it, he saw Chinatown.

The Washington-based restaurateur and businessman, who once owned a restaurant near Mount Vernon Place, has been buying up property in the Station North area of the city with the intention of attracting Chinese and other Asian business owners to a redeveloped arts and entertainment district.

Full article

If for some reason you ever feel down about living in Baltimore, just be glad you don’t live in one of America’s 10 most miserable cities according to Forbes Magazine.  Baltimore, which seemed to be dogged by “worst of” lists in the late 90’s and early 00’s managed to stay off the list.  This could be a signal that negative opinions of Baltimore from outsiders are changing.  The measurement is based on a city’s unemployment rate, personal tax rate, commute time, weather, crime, and toxic waste proximity. The top ten “most miserable” cities, according to Forbes:

1. Detroit, MI
2. Stockton, CA
3. Flint, MI
4. New York City
5. Philadelphia, PA
6. Chicago, IL
7. Los Angeles, CA
8. Modesto, CA
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Providence, RI

If you haven’t checked out these maps on the Baltimore Sun website yet, you might want to.  The show the comparison of home sale prices for 2007 vs. 2006. It’s interesting to see prices up in many low-income neighborhoods.

 Maryland home sale prices 06 - 07

Baltimore home sale prices 06 - 07