Like other suburbs of Washington, D.C., Beltsville, Maryland, has experienced a great deal of growth which local Realtors say is still active.

"Beltsville, MD, with a population of around 20,000 residents is located in Prince George's county," says Realtor Yolanda Muckle. "Beltsville is 11.9 miles from Washington, D.C. and nearby to Greenbelt, College Park and Calverton. The majority of houses in Beltsville were built after 1969 with a homeownership rate about 65 percent. Cross Creek Golf Club, an 18-hole mountain style course northeast of Washington, DC, is located in Beltsville. This championship course and residential community provide numerous creeks, ponds and impressive elevation changes."

About the market, Muckle says, "Beltsville currently has 39 active listings ranging in price from $270,000 to $670,000 with an average of 28 days on the market. Fifty-eight homes are under contract with a minimum price of $120,000 and a maximum price of $750,000. 213 homes were sold in the past six months and were on the market for an average of 15 days."

"Beltsville is located in northern Prince Georges County in an unincorporated area," says Realtor David Maplesden. "It is bounded approximated by College Park to the south, Silver Spring and Calverton to the west, Laurel to the north, and the USDA Agricultural Research Center to the east. The main highway running through it is Route 1, Baltimore Ave. On the western side of it lies Little Paint Branch Park and also slightly further west still, Powder Mill Community Park. I-95 cuts along the western side."

He expands, "On the northern side of Beltsville, much light industrial development is still taking place and there is a proposal to link the interconnected highway in this region from I-95 to 270. This proposal has been under discussion for the last 25 years and appears to be gaining momentum. Currently two or three alternative routes are under discussion; the proposed route will be located to the north west of Beltsville. Beltsville lies just north of the I-495 Beltway; the closest metro station is the Greenbelt station on the Green Line. Schools include Martin Luther King Middle School, Calverton Elementary School, Beltsville Elementary School, and Highpoint High School. There is a large, light industrial area known as the Beltsville Industrial Park, and the Ammendale business campus. These both straddle Route 1. In addition to the USDA National Agricultural Research center, Howard University has a Beltsville campus. Beltsville residential areas are centered around Birmingham Estates, Montgomery Estates and Beltsville Heights."

"According to the 1st Quarter, 2005 edition of the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (MRIS) Quarterly Economic and Market Watch Report," continues Maplesden, "a local database used by Realtors in the Washington D.C. area, housing sales reached another record high. Specific to the Beltsville area, the average price of a home was $300,900. The price change over one year increased by 27.66 percent. Total number of homes sold in the 1st quarter 2005 were 93. The percentage change in number of homes sold during this period was 6.90 percent and the average days on the market was 23. Finally, the percentage of asking price versus list price was 100.3 percent."

Maplesden advises, "We notice that inventory is low and buyers are numerous which is likely to cause a continued appreciating market. We will continue to see such appreciation of home values until one or both of two things happen: the first being that interest rates increase significantly, i.e. above 8.5 percent in a short time, or secondly, the local economy slows significantly, i.e., unemployment increases. Neither appears likely at this time."

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Published: August 22, 2005

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