baltimoresun.com
Home values in city rise 25%%
State assessments reflect uneven effect of real estate slump
By Larry Carson
Sun reporter
December 28, 2007
Baltimore's property values are growing faster than anywhere else in
Maryland, while the rate of increase in wealthy Montgomery County trails
the state, according to 728,185 reassessment notices to be mailed today
by state officials.
The topsy-turvy results showed the smallest percentage increases in the
state's most prosperous places -- such as Montgomery and Howard counties
-- while areas that often lag economically saw much greater gains,
despite a sluggish real estate market.
"Anyone who's been paying attention to the city of Baltimore has watched
it become a much more desirable place to live," said Sterling Clifford,
a spokesman for Mayor Sheila Dixon, referring to recent news of a slight
increase in the city's population after decades of population declines.
State officials and economists said other factors could be at work, too.
