Known as the home of the University of Maryland and the "cradle of American aviation," College Park is where the Wright Brothers chose to do early flight training. Local Realtors say the area offers a lot to homebuyers.
"U.S. Route 1 runs through the city's center and was constructed on the main north-south stagecoach route that existed in colonial times," says Realtor Yolanda Muckle . "The original Baltimore and Ohio railroad line connecting Washington, D.C. and Baltimore and the modern Metro Green Line rail system are located in this corridor. Opened in 1998, the College Park Aviation Museum is a 27,000-square-foot, state-of-the art facility located on the grounds of the historic College Park Airport, the oldest continuously operated airport in the nation. The airport is located on a site selected by the Wright brothers for early flight training."
About the market, Muckle says, "College Park is an ideal choice for homebuyers who prefer communities with historic appeal. The city features several neighborhoods -- Old Town, Berwyn Heights and Calvert Hills (listed in the National Register of Historic Places) -- that have been in existence for more than 100 years. This college town, home to the University of Maryland, is still a highly sought after location, as 31 homes were sold in May. They were on the market for an average of 9 days. The style of housing ranges from one-level condominiums, Cape Cods and Ramblers, to split-level, Colonial and Victorian dwellings. Construction dates on these homes spanned 90 years with the most recent built in 2004. Pricing on these homes was equally as varied, selling for as little as $100,000 to nearly $700,000."
Adds Realtor Chuck Bailey , "In many ways College Park's history is similar to much of Prince Georges County -- yet markedly different in others. Like much of the area throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, tobacco was the staple crop that supported much of the local economy. College Parks' agricultural culture helped to establish the Maryland Agricultural College in 1859, which would later evolve into the University of Maryland at College Park.
Students were expected to spend at least one hour per day working on the farm in addition to taking a broad range of courses from Modern languages, Natural sciences, and English to Mathematics. A disastrous fire destroyed the campus in 1912 which prompted the state to acquire and rebuild it. In the intervening decades, College Park's history has been inexorably linked to the growth and development of the University -- which in 1988 became the flagship branch of a combined consortium of existing university facilities as well as six other universities and colleges to form the University of Maryland System.
The University of Maryland at College Park has become a pre-eminent research university and consequently attracts world-class professors, academics, and thought-leaders. As a result, many bio-tech, agricultural and cutting-edge technology firms have moved to College Park and the surrounding areas to take advantage of the remarkable, intellectual-talent pool. For the trailing twelve months, the median selling price of a home in College Park was $290,000 (the range was from $117,000 to $700,000)."
"Just inside the I-495 Beltway and very close to I-95, it is also a short commute to Washington D.C.," says Realtor David Maplesden . "This city boasts a good location, with several river parks, close to Greenbelt State Park, with lots of wildlife and recreational areas. College Park is located in Prince Georges County where market prices tend to be lower than in surrounding Washington D.C. metropolitan counties. The northern part of the county, which includes College Park, tends to be higher in price than in the southern section of the county."
Maplesden advises, "College Park is a good place for young families to buy their first house. Attractions include Lake Artemesia, the Aviation Museum, the Goddard Space Flight Center in nearby Greenbelt, and Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at University of Maryland. The city has its own metro station on the Green Line of the system. Housing is varied, ranging from small first time buyer homes to large, very grand custom built homes in College Park Estates.
There are relatively few condos and townhouses, but there is some development of these pending. There is relatively little undeveloped land in College Park. The only new single family home projects are built on small infill lots. There is still good green space, as there is still much state owned parkland, especially along the Paint Branch tributary of the Anacostia River. 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."
