Mount Airy REALTORS® are gearing up for another blockbuster year… with a keen eye on all the pesky economic indicators that can make it or break it. Generally, our national economists tell us the nation will steadily march forward, that inventory will continue to be a huge issue for home buyers, sellers will enjoy higher prices and fewer days on market, and those prices will continue to appreciate while interest rates will, for the most part, remain historically low.

Although the number of residential units sold (through the MLS) in the 4-County Mount Airy area decreased from 572 to 509, the median sales price increased from $440,000 in 2020 to a whopping $530,000 last year. This is well above the average sales price of Carroll and Frederick County combined – which was $400,000 last year. Days on market went from 22 in 2019 to 9 in 2020 to an unbelievable average time on market of SIX DAYS in 2021. Based on the sales of Team Bonnie & Maureen’s listings, that 6 day period could’ve been much less, but we felt it was in our sellers’ best interests to allow showings for at least 4 or 5 days. During COVID, most brokerages, like us, would not allow “overlapping” showings, so agents with their buyers would sometimes need to get in and out of a house in 15 to 30 minutes!

Location, Location, Location – the one thing I think we will all agree on: Mount Airy is an awesome town, an awesome area. From the point in the pond where all 4 counties meet, to the historic, quaint and renovated downtown area, to the ample shopping and easy access to commuter routes and cities of all sizes, to the wonderful schools, the library and the parks, the breweries, wineries and specialty farmers, to the incredible view of the mountains and the scenic vistas – Mount Airy Maryland is “THE” place to Call Home!

What’s the Plan?

Mount Airy sure has seen some changes over the past 30 years, including phenomenal residential growth in The 21771. The demand has remained constant over the years and the shortage of available homes for sale in our current market makes it appear we have not kept up with the demand. As residents, we often look at the developers as the big bad wolves anxious to snatch up our farm fields to plant houses as far as the eye can see. But when the children we’ve raised here want to settle and raise their children here, when our parents want to downsize and stay near their friends and family in the area they grew up in, and there is no house for them to buy or lease, affordable or not, we look to the town, to the counties and to the developers to ask: What’s the plan?

Residential planning decisions and those who bring them to the table are necessary. Personally, as a REALTOR®  and resident, I haven’t agreed with all the planning decisions made over the years in Frederick and Carroll Counties or The Town of Mt Airy. But I do believe our elected officials have tried hard to explore and fight for the right balance of growth for us.

Taking into consideration an increasing and always shifting population and the impact of this on our environment is part of the planning process. I think I speak for everyone when I say it is our wish that we all work together to help our planners manage the growth, that instead of trying to stop the inevitable we help mold it to be the best it can be for all. While doing so, we will respect the needs and wants of our citizens and we will respect every landowner’s fundamental and legal rights – be they to develop or to preserve their land.