Daraius Irani, executive director for the Regional Economic Studies Institute
The Baltimore-area housing market is on its way back, up 5.3 percent from May 2012, according to industry research. Daraius Irani, executive director for the Regional Economic Studies Institute at Towson University, weighed in on the subject Monday.
“It’s finding its footing … it’s not leaping and bounding. It’s crawling,” Irani told The Baltimore Sun.
The media price for a home sold last month was $250,000. At its peak, the median price for a home in the Baltimore area was $274,250 in 2007.
“The real challenge is the number of homes for sale in the market is lower than it has been,” he said when speaking with Sheilah Kast on WYPR’s Maryland Morning.
“It’s not driven by the fact it’s a hot housing market. It’s that there are a lot of people that are under water and they don’t want to sell their home or because going to the next home may be difficult. They may have a couple of thousand dollars in equity, but when they sell their homes, between the realtor fees and everything else, they don’t have enough for a good down payment.”
The full segment, “What’s Next for the Baltimore Metro Housing Market?,” is available online with more analysis from Irani and Baltimore Sun reporter Steve Kilar.
Along with his role as executive director for RESI, Irani is an associate vice president for the Towson University Division of Innovation and Applied Research. Irani and his team are often called by state agencies, private companies and local government to provide insight into proposed policies, development or forecasting the economy. With a deep passion for all things economic, his research spans a wide range of topics from immigration to the Super Bowl.
He regularly comments on the local economy and provides research updates on the TU Innovates blog.
