Escape From Pianosa

Prices in Baltimore have gone up to record levels recently but the city is still a great deal for Washington, DC workers who want to enjoy the vibrancy and culture of a large city without paying a king’s ransom for a house.

This article in the Examiner highlights some DC workers who have made the move to Baltimore and shows the gaping difference in home prices between the two cities:

“In the first nine months of 2005, the average sale price for a home in Washington, D.C., was $517,743, based on Metropolitan Regional Information Systems data.

In Baltimore, the average sale price was $154,064.”

Pretty big difference. Now if only they could get this Maglev built, the commute would be only 20 minutes…

Today’s Baltimore Sun has an article on the resurgence of Patterson Park:

“The revival that Rutkowski’s group helped create in a then-rapidly declining swath of Southeast Baltimore runs so counter to prevailing trends that even experienced revitalization leaders were taken aback. It had all the signs of relentless decline: white and middle-class flight, prostitutes, drug dealers, shady investors, derelict homes spreading like a virus.

Now, vacancies are dwindling; crime has dropped. Home prices have shot up at least fivefold. Restored brick facades are multiplying. It’s not a problem-free neighborhood, but there’s general agreement that it’s far better than it was a decade ago.”

I agree, it’s far better than even two years ago. The only thing I disagree with is Rutkowski’s stipulation that the growth in Canton didn’t have much to do with the growth in Patterson Park. To me it’s pretty obvious that there are a lot of people that wanted to live in Canton but couldn’t afford it and so they decided that hey, at least I’ll be living close to the park and within short driving distance of the Canton nightlife.

Of course, the renaissance has only spread to the blocks that are within two streets of the park. North of Fayette St., it’s “block-to-block” like so much of Baltimore. And if you talk to rehabbers in the area, you’ll probably find that they’re competing with a lot of inventory.

Still, I’m putting my money (literally) on the continued growth of development northward, as the Hopkins Biotech Project pushes the wave of development towards the south.

Me: “So, are you ready to get this deal done?”

Buyer: “Well… we were, but I drove by the house yesterday with my partner and we witnessed a drug deal right in front.”

Me: “Like, right in front of the house, or on the corner?”

Buyer: “No, right in front of the house. The guy pulled up in a car, handed over some money, and another guy ran over and gave him the drugs.”

Me: “Well, you see, that’s the funny thing about Baltimore.. Some neighborhoods… Really, it’s normal; I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

Buyer: “We’re gonna pass on this one.”

Me: “Is there a better price that would work for you?”

Buyer: “Yeah. Zero.”