August 20th and 21st - Caroline Summerfest, Friday 5 to 10 PM and Saturday 2 to 10 PM. Fun, food, booths, musicians, entertainers, and fireworks. This is a free, annual, event.  Much of Market Street is closed to vehicle traffic. Come out and have fun!  

If you are from out of town, call me for directions or just plug my office address into your GPS and you will find these events nearby.

Private 1.5 acre waterfront retreat on the Choptank River. Approx. 158 feet of water frontage. The water is 1 - 2 feet deep and good for canoeing, kayaking and fishing. The home has a large front porch and a rear custom deck that is length of house and goes down to an above ground swimming pool. Home features a stone fireplace, balcony off master bedroom, and a large master bath with a garden tub. Waterfront at an extremely affordable price.

Many years ago, one of my heroes, Thomas Paine, wrote, "These are the times that try mens' souls." He was speaking of the turmoil in the American colonies, at the time, among our ancestors in their struggle for independence from British rule.  Because of their struggles, sacrifices, and hard-fought battles the outcome is now history . . . on July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed and we have long since enjoyed its "unalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

Today, during all of our partying and festivities, let's not forget why we are celebrating. Please take just a couple of seconds and say a short prayer of thanks to all of those who made our great journey of "freedom, life, liberty, and our pursuits of happiness" possible.

Though our current times "try our souls" it's the 224 years of freedom which give us our sense of pride and nationalism . . . and make us so strong.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY ! 

This split-level home in the Sherwood community has just had a face lift. Three upper-level bedrooms, formal dining room, eat-in kitchen and living room. Wood floors! Main level has nice size family room with gas fireplace, fourth bedroom (would make a nice office) and a sun room. There's also a partial basement with laundry area and storgage. Attached garage. Shed. All this on a shaded lot. Estate sale. No disclosures. Agent is related to seller. Priced to sell!

As a retired member of the United States Air Force, I salute my fellow brothers and sisters in all the military services, past and present. Thank you, one and all, for your many sacrifices and efforts in making, and keeping, the United States of America the greatest nation on earth. Let it be known to all that the nationalism that lives deep in, most of, our souls is directly rooted in the freedoms which we love so dearly; the freedoms which our veterans valiantly won for us. Let us never forget their noble efforts!

Spacious Sun Room with beautiful, wide, view of the Choptank River. Deep water! Dock with water and electric and 10,000 pound boat lift! Eat-in kitchen and a separate dining room. Living Room has a wood burning stove. Water view from almost every room! 3-Bay detached garage and 2-room workshop with heat, air, washer and dryer. Potential home business? Plenty of parking. 200' water frontage. 6 1/2 wooded, private acres.... For additional information or to schedule a showing, Contact Darlene Hayward (410) 310-9407

Beautiful Choptank River Waterfront. "To Be Built." Private setting at end of cul-de-sac. You too can have a spectacular custom home constructed by Bay Breeze Builders or bring your own Builder. Also, for sale as lot only for $250,000. Combine Lot 12 & Lot 11 for a total of 3.87 acres. Owning a home on the Choptank River is truly the right way to enjoy Maryland's Eastern Shore. Don't miss it!  For additional info or to visit the property, contact Mary Clark (410) 310-2605.

Grand old house with 10 foot ceilings, big rooms, wood floors, and two staircases. Kitchen has wood walls and center island. Family room has wood stove. Big floored, unfinished, attic. Front and side wrapped screened porch and side glassed porch. Many outbuildings, including a barn with loft, small barn with stalls, and storage sheds. Very private - house sits back from road in center of fields.  Plenty of outbuldings and barns provide space for mostly anything a farmer could ask for. 159 acres of mostly sandy loam soils. Approx. 130 + acres are tilled and 20 + acres are wooded. Great area for riding horses. Land is leased to a tenant farmer for harvest of crops in the fields at time of purchase only. Great deer and turkey hunting area. Farm is not subject to any ag easement programs.

1.55 Acres of beautiful waterfront. Private wooded setting. 3 +/- Feet MLW.  Also available - Lot/House package on Lot 12 See CM7333357. Contact Agent Mary Clark for info (410) 310-2605.

New roof, siding, windows, wiring, plumbing, HVAC, carpet. Has 8 offices (rooms) plus a large conference area (big open room), kitchenette, 1 full and 3 half baths, reception area (big open area), and a second-floor entrance. Energy efficient (spray foam insulated). 2-zone HVAC. Security system. CAT-6 wired. Can be purchased together with adjoining 1-acre HC Zoned property. Great visibility, corner location on Route 404 (Shore Highway). High traffic counts. Owners are real estate agent/broker in the state of Maryland.

10 + acres in tranquil, park-like, setting.  Frontage on the upper reaches of Marshyhope Creek. Water depth adequate for canoeing or kayaking. Light tree cover. Sandy soils.  Fairly new, three-bedroom, double-wide "and" a two bedroom single-wide. A couple of acres are clear. Plenty of room for horses.  Perfect for a weekend hangout or a retirement haven.  Priced to sell.  For more info or to see the property contact Darlene Hayward (410) 310-9407 .

Beautiful contemporary, ranch style, home on nicely landscaped town lot. Excellent condition. Meticulously cared for. Slate walk way. Entrance foyer. Nice size rooms. Separate dining room/area. Built-in microwave and stainless steel appliances. Wonderful master bedroom with large walk-in closet. Fenced back yard. Entertain on the nice rear deck with hot tub. 2-Car attached garage with work bench.  For more info or to see the property contact Darlene Hayward (410) 310-9407 .

To get the absorption rate, for the following counties, take the number of homes sold since 1/1/09 and divide that number by the number of days so far this year (103 days as of 4/13/09).  This will give you an average number of homes sold daily.  Divide that number into the total homes on the market in each county and you will get the "absorption rate" for each county based on current sales for 2009. 

The absorption rates for the counties below are over two years (yes at the rate at which homes are selling now it will take over two years for all the homes on the market to be sold in those counties).  When the absorption rate is high we are in a period known as a Buyer's Market (lots of homes to choose from and no time constraint pressures to buy them).  We are definitely experiencing a Buyer's Market right now.

Absorption rates can be pretty sobering if you are home seller.  Call me or email me and I will explain.

These stats are for Homes in Caroline, Kent, and Queen Anne's County, in MD.

Caroline County, MD - Active (A) Home Listings in all price ranges:  374

Caroline County, MD - Under Contract (UC) Home Listings in all price ranges: 41

Caroline County, MD - SOLD (S) Homes 1/1/09 to Present:  49   

Kent County, MD - A Home Listings in all price ranges:  346

Kent County, MD - UC Home Listings in all price ranges: 28

Kent County, MD - S Homes 1/1/09 to Present:  22

Queen Anne's County, MD - A Home Listings in all price ranges:  > 500 *

Queen Anne's County, MD - UC Home Listings in all price ranges: 64

Queen Anne's County, MD - S Homes 1/1/09 to Present:  63

* Results taken from MRIS multi-list.  Search only goes to 500. This figure is greater than 500.

I know someone whose mother removes crab meat out of Blue Crabs ("picks crabs") for a living.  This woman has been picking crab meat since she was a little girl.  She held her own mother's hand, as a little girl, when her mother walked to the local crabhouse to pick crabs.  Her mother did it until she was in her late 70's.  It's a hard life.  She wakes up at 3 AM, has a slice of toast and a cup of coffee, and waits for a van to pick her up and take her to the local crabhouse where she works until about 10 AM.  There, she picks the meat from hundreds of crabs and puts it into various cans (jumbo lump, backfin, or claw meat). This woman is probably the fastest picker in the crabhouse. She can pick over 30 pounds of meat per day. She also produces some of the finest and cleanest meat (hardly any shells or crab by-products) of the 15 or so women who work alongside her in the picking house. This woman is now 76 years old. This is the only occupation that she has ever had and the only job that she has ever wanted to do. It's a tough life though, standing on a usually wet, concrete, floor in a damp and very warm or very cool and drafty atmosphere day-in and day-out, hands and crab meat flying. The pay? $2.50 per pound. After a long season, ending in late November, she and her coworkers look forward to the winter respite and their seasonal unemployment checks.  Just a couple of weeks to go. 

Who is this lady who picks the meat from the crabs? I am proud to say that this lady is my mother. She has been working for Tideland Seafood, in Wingate, Maryland, for about five years now.  Before that, she worked for 42 years for a local crab company that just closed the doors one day and the owners didn't even call her or others who had worked there for so many years to even let them know that they had closed.  No gold watch, no pension, and not even a"Thank You." Ah, yes, it's a tough life. Living on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and working in the local economy that depends on the Bay is tough. I held my mother's hand, as a little boy, and went to the crab house with her. I will never forget that.

If you ever get a chance, visit one of the local crab houses and see just how fast someone can pick a crab. It will probably surprise you.  Go in the Summer time and, while you're there, buy a couple of pounds of freshly picked meat.  You won't be disappointed!

So now you know who removes the meat from the crabs. It's the hard working people like my mother who do it and who are very proud of doing that for a liviing . . .  and I'm so proud of my hard-working mother and of my eastern shore upbringing and heritage. 

When will home sales pick up again?  Interest rates are still very good. The absorption rate for homes in Caroline County, Maryland, reveals that with 502 homes on the market there is over a 25 month supply of homes to be sold even if no more homes were to come on the market in the next 25 months.  Wow.  Given that there will be additional homes listed in the coming months you obviously get the picture that there is an abundance of homes on the market in Caroline County and thus . . . it's still a Buyer's Market.

Call me or email me if you would to buy or sell a house land or a farm or if you need help with planning for a 1031 exchange (buy or sell).  Mickey Hayward Cell Phone (410) 924-2277 or  Email mickey@sunsetproperties.net

Per MRIS data, in August 2007 there were 28 home sales in Caroline County.  The average sales price was $225,885 and the average Days on Market were 176.  In August 2006, total home sales were 51, the average sales price was 281,704, and average days on market were 138.  This represents a 45.1 % decrease in the number of homes sold, a 19.8 % decrease in the average home sales price, and an average days on market increase of 27.5 %, over a one year period.

Will home prices continue to decline?  My feeling is that as long as the media continues to tout negative real estate stories prices will continue to adjust in the near term.  My opinion is that the media plays a big role in public perception of the real estate market and it may in fact foster a self-fulfilling prophecy about real estate market woes.

The reality is that now seems to be a good time to buy a home.  Mortgage interest rates are still very reasonable and there are so many homes for sale that the market in this area is definitely favorable to Buyers - a "Buyer's Market."  Will interest rates stay low and home prices continue to decrease.  It's anyone's guess.  Why take a chance?  If you see a home that you really like and you can afford to buy it now, why not buy it?

Mickey Hayward is a certified residential specialist (CRS), a graduate of the REALTOR'S© institute (GRI), a Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) and a Maryland and Delaware Real Estate Broker.  His office is located at 110 Market Street, in Denton, Maryland 21629. Websites:  www.mddehomes.com        www.sunsetproperties.net  Maryland and Delaware For Sale By Owner:  www.mddefsbo.com