Part 1 of a two-part series looking at housing affordability in Frederick County. Tom Brady thought he was ready to buy his first home. The Middletown High School graduate had a good job in IT with Xecunet out of Ballenger Creek and had saved money for his own place by living at his parents' home.
In , Brady hired Kelly Losquadro, a real estate agent with Long and Foster, to help locate the perfect starter home. Losquadro said Brady is a "saver" who "is very, very budget conscious, which I was so impressed by. Brady said location was a big factor, wanting to be close to downtown Frederick and work, but having enough space and modern appliances, including an in-unit washer and dryer, were also on the checklist. They grew close as the search entered a second year.
Losquadro said Brady was "the son I never had" and used to joke about him sharing a name with the six-time Super Bowl winner and 's Business Insider's Sexiest Athlete Alive. She said, she used to tell her husband, "I'm going out with Tom Brady tonight. Two and a half years into the search, Brady, now 33, still lived with his parents.
While Losquadro spoke glowingly of Brady as a person, she said his story was not unique in a market she called "crazy. Experts agree that while housing in Frederick is generally strong, supply has not matched demand for lower-priced homes, mirroring trends throughout the state and region.
Housing data compiled by MarketStats shows both the average and median prices increasing within Frederick County from December to December Average sale prices increased 2. The state's Department of Assessments and Taxation evaluates the value of taxable land for a third of the county each year, leading every property in the county to be reassessed on a triennial cycle. In the last three years, property values increased between Alcorn added: "It's definitely more of a seller's market. She said the housing stock, or supply of various types of housing options, is lacking on the lower to middle end of the cost spectrum.
