Baltimore City: Affordable housing at a premium

The Baltimore region lacks a supply of affordable housing, a local housing official said. BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Work force housing is a key to the future of Baltimore-area real estate. For the housing market to be successful, it must create a system to support people moving from low-income housing to moderate- and then high-income homes, Ilene Kessler, president of the Maryland Association of Realtors, told The Examiner.

Work force housing is at the core of that cycle, creating stable, affordable options for local hardworking residents, she said.

With an influx of middle-class and blue-collar workers coming to the area as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure initiative, finding and identifying housing to meet their needs will be key, Kessler said.

“This is something [everyone working together] has to address and can’t say another community will handle it,” Kessler said. “It affects all of us and is a pressing issue.”

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In the Baltimore region, March statistics by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems have houses selling for an average of $306,588. Locally, Anne Arundel County, where Fort Meade is, has homes going for an average of $395,037, while nearby Baltimore City remains more affordable at $178,019. In Harford County, where the Aberdeen Proving Ground is, homes are selling for an average of $296,432.

“The region lacks an adequate supply of housing in decent condition that is available to a wide range of low- and moderate-income households,” said Tania Baker, acting director of communications for Baltimore Housing.

About 28,000 new households will soon move to the area, with about 24,000 of these being homebuyers, the Maryland BRAC study conducted by the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development found.

With the Mortgage Bankers Association reporting that Maryland had a 12.39 percent increase in subprime loans for the last quarter, Kessler said it was important that people in the housing market work together to keep these potential buyers in their homes.

(examiner.com)