The Severn housing market underwent some surprising month-over-month and year-over-year changes in April, with healthy increases in local home prices and the number of homes sold.

According to the latest housing market statistics for April 2012 issued by the Metropolitan Regional Information System (MRIS), the average price for homes sold in Severn increased 24 percent over the same period last year and 19 percent over March 2012. The number of properties sold rose 19 percent from last year, but the average amount of time those homes spent on the market jumped 11 percent to 134 days.

One interesting twist in the Severn housing market last month was the disparate trends for attached versus detached homes. Of the 32 homes sold in Severn last month, 30 (94 percent) were detached units, while only two were attached units, such as townhouses and condominiums. In March, 14 of 21 properties sold in Severn were detached, while in April 2011, 17 of 27 properties sold were detached units.

Mirroring a significant increase in home-sales activity in Gambrills and Odenton this spring, the dollar volume of homes sold in Severn jumped 48 percent and the average sold price rose to $339,855. Also following similar trends in Gambrills and Odenton, there were far fewer homes for sale in Severn last month than there were a year ago. The number of active listings in April was 148, while the number of active listings in April 2011 was 181.

Continued demand for housing in the areas surrounding Ft. Meade and Arundel Mills Mall has helped the local housing market wake from its multiyear slumber, albeit slowly. A similar trend is present for the local rental market, with very few single family properties available in and around Severn and the rents for those properties running anywhere from $1,800-$2,500 per month, depending on location, property type and amenities.

The full MRIS housing statistics report for Severn is available at:

http://www.rbintel.com/statistics/zip-code-report?zip=21144

Jerry Kline is a Realtor with the Odenton, Md., office of Keller Williams Flagship Realty (1216 Annapolis Rd., Odenton.) For more information on the local real estate market, contact him at (443) 924-7418.