So check out these five Baltimore homes.  If you find one interesting, click the address link for more information.

Remember, if you buy a Baltimore Condominium or a Downtown Baltimore home with the help of CondoDomain Baltimore, you will receive a CASH BACK refund check.

Contact one of our CondoDomain Baltimore agents for more information on this fantastic deal!

$349,900: 331 Regester Ave, Baltimore

3 beds, 2 full baths

$429,900: 1310 Richardson St, Baltimore

3 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths

$329,000 : 1450 Riverside Ave, Baltimore

2 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths

$300,000 : 3622 Springdale Ave, Baltimore

6 beds, 3 full baths

$399,000 : 106 Lee St W, Baltimore

3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Baltimore-area rental and condo market in early ‘10

New condos have taken it on the chin in this housing market, but first-quarter sales in the Baltimore metro area were the highest in three years, according to real estate information firm Delta Associates. (There were 119 “net” deals, which accounts for contracts that fell through.)

About 1,700 new condos are ready for occupancy or under construction, so Delta doesn’t expect “price traction” until next year at the earliest. Asking prices were down 4.2 percent from a year earlier.

On the up side, the inventory was nearly 2,700 a year ago. Big drop since then….

If you’re an artist interested in moving to Baltimore – or just someone who enjoys art in Baltimore – there’s a great new project the horizon that’s sure to attract your attention.

On March 9, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman teamed up for a site visit to the new City Arts, an affordable residential development designed with artists in mind. Located in the Arts and Entertainment District of Baltimore Station, City Arts is scheduled to open in January 2011.

However, developments targeted at artists are not just for the sake of artists – the presence of people who serve to push against cultural norms and contribute to local community growth are always conducive to community development. And as everyone knows, wherever the artists choose to settle, the rest of the world is soon to follow. (Walden, anyone?)

“At the NEA, we know that artists are placemakers,” Landesman said, as reported by the NEA website. “When you bring arts organizations and arts workers into a neighborhood, the ethos of that place changes: the arts are a force of social cohesion, civic engagement, and economic revitalization. We are thrilled that the City Arts development was made possible through an existing HUD program and a forward thinking public-private partnership.”

Targeted to low- and moderate-income artists, the development will include 69 rental apartments, 8 for-sale town houses, and a professionally managed visual arts gallery and performance arts space.  11 units will also be reserved for non-elderly disabled persons from the Public Housing Waiting List.

The project is being financed as part of the Recovery Act investments, which were intended to jump-start affordable housing development. City Arts will add much to Baltimore Station’s considerable assets, which include a plethora of cultural organizations and activities, entertainment venues, and proximity to public transportation.

But just in case you can’t wait that long for housing, check out other affordable options on CondoDomain, and save thousands!

If you’re detailed-oriented, I have some awesome links that you’re going to appreciate. And while I don’t tend to get too link happy, I think that these provide some great stats worth looking at.

A few days ago, Jamie Smith from the Baltimore Sun compiled a nice collection of detailed information on the Baltimore real estate market. After all, what use is broad information on the Baltimore market if you want neighborhood specifics, or even a ZIP code-by-ZIP code analysis?

My favorite link she provided is of colorful maps which show the change in average price last year in the region’s ZIP codes and the city’s neighborhoods. There are also maps showing changes in the Baltimore region and city over the past year.

Lauren Custer has also provided a searchable database according to ZIP code, which categorizes the stats from home sales in 2008 and 2009.

But as everyone knows, ZIP codes tend to hide a lot of variation according to actual neighborhood stats. No fear.  Find an Excel file with sales by neighborhood here.

And after you’ve searched to your heart’s content, return to CondoDomain and look up listings in those same neighborhoods!

Baltimore Deputy Mayor for Economic and Neighborhood Development Andrew B. Frank announced his resignation yesterday, along with his intention to leave City Hall mid-May for a advisement job with John Hopkins President Ronald J. Daniels. His new job includes economic development advising, and working on neighborhood revitalization with the East Baltimore Development Initiative and the East Baltimore Community School. The massive east side redevelopment project has been long stalled, and strongly opposed by displaced locals.

Frank is a strong member of City Government and will be sorely missed. Baltimore infrastructure has seen significant improvements: the city maintained a high bond rating,  experienced population growth downtown, and the “Superblock” was completed. Previously the Executive Vice President for the Baltimore Development Corporation, he is admired by many city businessmen, who used their influence to assure that he would remain in office after Dixon’s resignation.

So why leave?

One of the highest-ranking officials from the Dixon administration retained by Mayor Rawlings-Blake, Frank claims that disagreements with the new mayor had nothing to do with his decision. However, several occurrences may indicate otherwise.

Former Mayor Dixon’s legal troubles partly stemmed from her relationship with developers, and city officials have privately speculated that Frank was considered “too close” to Dixon. Furthermore, Rawlings-Blake made several changes to Frank’s staff, “dismissing one assistant deputy mayor and demoting another. Kaliope Parthemos, Rawlings-Blake’s former assistant chief of staff and childhood friend, became Frank’s sole assistant deputy mayor,” according to the Baltimore Sun. Interesting.

She has also publicly declared that the Baltimore Development Corp. should be more ‘transparent’, and a mayoral spokesman confirmed Tuesday that Frank had lost his city-owned take-home car (a 2006 Ford Escape hybrid) after Rawlings-Blake took office.

Needless to say, whoever Rawlings-Blake chooses to fill Frank’s position with will certainly be a decision to watch. Considering the pertinence of economic issues to Baltimore, it will certainly a good indicator of her upcoming term.

If Frank’s job is anything to judge by, East Baltimore will soon be experiencing a huge redevelopment overhaul: check out listings on CondoDomain now, and beat the rush.

Located in the heart of  the action, Eight 50 Aliceanna is a brand new condominium building that you’ll never want to leave – were it not for its incredible location. Eight 50 offers immediate access to the best of the social goodies that Harbor East has to offer, from shopping and dining to stores like Whole Foods and a state-of-the-art exercise facility.

The building itself is dazzling. Large windows open the condos up to gorgeous light, morning or evening. They also provide a great view of Harbor East, delivering a sense of energy to the living comunity.

And the windows aren’t the only thing which open up the space – ceilings stand at a height of nine and a half feet. The units at 850 Aliceanna also feature hard wood floors and stainless steel appliances, and the bathrooms are adorned with glass enclosed showers and porcelain tile baths. Washer and dryers as well as garage parking is included at  Eight 50 Aliceanna.

Check out listings for Eight 50 Aliceanna on CondoDomain, and be a part of this exciting living community.

In 1986, H&S Properties Development Corp purchased the tract in 1986.  Assistant development manager Christopher H. Janian says that “First and foremost, Harbor East was intended to be a self-sufficient neighborhood for native Baltimoreans, a multiuse development modeled after New York City-style streetscapes.”

New York in Baltimore? You heard right. Harbor East is small: the limits are Fleet to Lancaster streets and the harbor to Caroline Street, 70 acres in total which extend the Inner Harbor Promenade. However, the size only serves to intensify the access to the urban park: commerce, shopping, dining, art, tourism, entertainment, and living. Developers are questing to recapture the time when all existed symbiotically in one setting. It’s an absolutely ideal spot for young professionals to blend home, work, and fun.

Harbor East is most well-known for its nightlife – head here to check out amazing stores like Kashmir Imports or Urban Chic, grab a bite to eat at the fantastic Pazo Cinco, and settle down for a drink at the James Joyce or Kosmos Lounge. Or, check out the 7-screen art house theatre at Landmark Theatres, which features gourmet food and bar. Sweet.

Harbor East also features several new  residences, located right in the heart of this pulsing urban hotspot – some of the neatest are the condominiums 850 Aliceanna (great view, big windows, on same street as everything else!) and The Vue (a gorgeous tower residence, also an Aliceanna), and apartments at Spinnaker Bay.

If this peaks your interest, definitely check out listings in Harbor East on CondoDomain.

Jay Hancock recently wrote a neat article in the Baltimore Sun that I thought deserved a post.

Google recently announced a project on its blog, which outlines a plan to build “ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States.” Installing optical figer carrying a gigabit of data per second to the doorsteps of at least 50,000 homes and businesses, Google would move data nearly a hundred times faster than that broadband normally allows. Sounds awesome? It gets better. Google would pay for it all, in order to usher in a new age of Internet and increase its standing as a cutting-edge company.

According to Hancock, Baltimore is a city that should and could win a bid for Google’s project.

“Getting a piece of the project would be a publicity coup for Baltimore, a jobs generator and a jolt for local Internet development,” Hancock writes. He then goes on to detail the reasons for Baltimore’s need and merit: proximity to DC, Baltimore’s many medical institutions (Google mentions “three-dimensional medical imaging over the Web” as the first benefit), Verizon’s absence in the city, and huge potential economic improvement for the city.

Social networks are exploding with the possibility, and representatives’ inboxes are filling up with requests for the bandwith. Just think: more jobs! economic interest! better schools! better hospitals! incredible internet! Yes please. Well, you guys are Baltimore city residents. So get started! Harass your representatives to your heart’s content, and let’s make it happen!

(While you’re at it, check out some condo listings on CondoDomain. If Baltimore gets the bid, your economic standings may be improving very soon. Hello, Inner Harbor.)

Media sources were buzzing yesterday with the news that the Goldseker Foundation has granted $435,000 to a select group of Baltimore city schools. However, the grants came with some interesting stipulations: the money must be used in partnership with their surrounding neighborhoods. These joint grants serve to improve not only schools, but the community as a whole.

The Goldseker Foundation intends to build healthy neighborhoods from the inside out by improving educational standards and serving the children of the neighborhoods. Better educational standards raises property values, and the grants are expected to make the neighborhoods more desirable places to live through better upkeep of properties and stronger ties to the community.

School grants were offered between $20,000 and $50,000 for the improvement of academics in order to attract residents. Neighborhoods that received grants had already received “Healthy Neighborhoods” program grants from Goldseker, and could win $20,000 to $30,000 to support community organizing and incorporate the schools into Healthy Neighborhoods marketing.

As reported by the Daily Record, the eight Baltimore city schools which have received grants are:

• Cross Country Elementary/Middle School, which received $50,000 for technology integration (in partnership with Comprehensive Housing Assistance Inc., who receive $25,000)
• Calvin M. Rodwell Elementary received $50,000 for the WeatherBug Science curriculum (its partner Garwin Oaks Northwest Housing Resource Center got $25,000)
• Gwynns Falls Elementary received $50,000 (in partnership with Greater Mondawmin Coordinating Council, which received $25,000)
• The Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville Inc. won a total of $40,000, for partnerships with City Neighbors Charter School, ($25,000), and Hamilton Elementary/Middle School and St. Francis of Assisi School (both $20,000).
• $35,000 each was granted to the Greater Homewood Community Corp. with Barclay Elementary/Middle School and Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle School.

My personal favorite is the Calvin M. Rodwell Elementary grant for its WeatherBug Science curriculum. Students claim that if they had used the curriculum in the first place, they would have been better prepared to inform their community about the impending blizzards. Cutest.

Although the grants will be immensely useful, only schools which bested the city average test scores were awarded the money, which seems only to further the gap between academically successful schools and many others that are struggling. Furthermore, the pattern of rewarding high test scores often leads to devaluation of a whole education in favor of drills and practice tests.

Timothy Armbruster, the president of Goldseker, claimed in a press release that strengthening connections between schools and neighborhoods “is one more step in making the city more reponsive and attractive to a wide range of families, including Baltimore’s growing middle class.”

Check out listings in these up-and-coming neighborhoods (see Lauraville or Homewood) on CondoDomain.

Baltimore Sun photo by Algerina Perna

Brand new Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake addressed the city yesterday in her first state of the city address since her election, as reported by The Daily Record last night. Her mainly economic speech focused on the budget woes of Baltimore (the city has accumulated a $120 million budget deficit). Most notably, she stated that the deficit is in fact equal to a 36-cent raise in the property tax – however, she pledged to avoid raising the property tax in Baltimore, telling City Council that “if we work together, we can pledge we will not raise property taxes to fix this budget gap.”

The property tax issue is certainly one of the first things on the minds of real estate developers and investors. Fear of raising the already steep tax is palpable as leery investors stand back and assess the health of the real estate market, the development of which would certainly be harmed by a property tax increase. Currently, Baltimore taxes real property at twice the rate of anywhere in Maryland: $2.268 per $100 of assessed value.

Whether Rawlings-Blake will be able to accomplish this goal remains to be seen. Nearly 60 percent of the city’s funds come from property taxes.

“The Great Recession has created the most difficult budget environment in memory. By making everything a priority, nothing is a priority. Our limited resources have been spread too thin, in too many areas. As a result, we now inherit a devastating $120 million deficit,” she is quoted by Daily Report.

Rawlings-Blake has been supported by fellow councilmen in this decision, one of whom claims it to be a simple “yes-no” decision.

Check out Baltimore properties on CondoDomain now, and take advantage of the low prices in today’s market!

Next time you and your neighbors are ranting about the snow (which we all know will be going on for at least the next month), you’ll have a new number to toss out: $830 million.

Yes, that mountainous amount is what the state Department of Business and Economic Development has roughly estimated the cost of the snowstorms to be for the Maryland economy. Ouch.

You may ask, as I did: How is that possible? Well, as reported by the Baltimore Sun, there are multiple factors to be considered. And while calculating the exact cost of a drastic halt in economic activity is difficult, here’s a quick run-down of what’s contributing to that number.

First, there’s the obvious price to plow the roads, which economists are currently estimating to exceed $5o million for the usually mild state (Meanwhile, Chicagoans and New Yorkers are chuckling at our plight. They regularly receive at least 70 inches of snow a year, and rarely suffer a transportation halt so drastic. So for all the government officials out there: contrary to your irritated claims, residents are not unmerited in requesting road clearance, since the much of the country deals with this kind of snowfall regularly and well. But I’ll get off my slightly irrelevant soapbox.)

Second, there’s the hit caused by the halt in transportation: retails sales went down, while business expenses went up. Furthermore, individuals prevented from traveling to their jobs took cuts to their hourly incomes. Commerce was slowed by the inability to transport goods.

As if that isn’t enough, the healthcare market was drastically harmed. In an area where medical services contribue largely to the economy, the financial hit to hospitals that weren’t expecting the large additional costs is painful.

Somehow, it all feels like a twisted problem you might have received in that econ class in college.

Feel free to vent your frustration on the City of Baltimore by browsing recent listings in the surrounding area on CondoDomain!

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan is outlining some budgetary plans which could potentially stimulate the national economy and neighborhoods in the Baltimore area.  The budget has already been backed by President Obama when it was announced in May 2009. Relevant to the Baltimore area is the recent launch of HUD’s new Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities (OSHC).

(For those who are unaware of this U.S. Department, HUD is the nation’s housing agency responsible for sustaining homeownership, promoting economic and community development, enforcing fair housing law, and creating and sustaining housing opportunities for disadvantaged Americans.)

As reported by Pillar Property Group yesterday, this budget aims to streamline HUD’s housing and community development programs, and to increase accountability and efficiency. Amongst HUD’s many goals through this new budget is the creation and retention of  112,000 jobs through the Department’s housing and economic development investments in communities across the country, including Baltimore.

According to a HUD press release,“The budget promotes innovative and comprehensive approaches to the nation’s ongoing affordable housing crisis by making targeted investments to help the economy grow, stimulate jobs, and keep people in their homes.”

Of particular interest to the Baltimore area is the creation of the OSHC. The implementation of OSHC seeks to revitalize distressed neighborhoods and increase their economic vitality. Implementation of these policies will hopefully stabilize real estate prices and increase consumer interest.

According to HUD’s press release a few weeks ago, “OSHC will be the center-point for all of HUD’s sustainability efforts. The average household spends more than half of its budget on housing and transportation, which have become American families’ two single biggest expenses. With OSHC as lead, HUD will work to improve access to affordable housing and transportation options, saving money for American families while allowing them more time to spend at home and less time traveling.”

Good news, everybody! For more information on what’s available in Baltimore right now, check out CondoDomain’s listings.