Samina Chowdhury shares insights on real estate trends in the DMV and building strong communities

With more than 21 years of experience in real estate and as a leading real estate agent in Maryland, Samina Chowdhury can offer plenty of insight on the real estate market that binds together Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia.

With high interest rates and low inventory shaping the COVID-19 pandemic housing market, the expertise of a real estate agent like Chowdhury has never been more urgent, critical or timely for homebuyers and sellers.

A member of the Bob Lucido Team, Keller Williams Lucido Agency who has been featured on the Forbes magazine, Chowdhury effortlessly fuses together the logistics of homebuying with the personal side of lassoing the American dream by way of buying a home.

A strong real estate market anchored by experienced agents like Chowdhury goes a long way toward maintaining economic stability in local communities, regions and the nation at large. A strong housing market also reflects a strong community fabric, stitched together one new home at a time.

So, what’s to know about the real estate market in the District of Columbia-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) metro area? Plenty. For starters, over the last three years, Chowdhury has seen that April and May are the busiest months for real estate sales, and there is no longer a “hot summer market.”

“It’s now a hot spring market,” says Chowdhury, an immigrant from Bangladesh who lives in the Baltimore region. “And that hot spring market really starts in January; it really kicks in after the 10th. That’s when we get busy.”

Sales dip in July and August and the market doesn’t typically recover until after October, she says. Activity continues through November before dipping around Dec. 10 and then finally shutting down for the year as the holidays approach. Things pick back up around Jan. 10 of the following year.

“This has been the trend since 2020,” says Chowdhury, noting the year in which the pandemic emerged.

As for low inventory in the DMV, lenders are making moves to streamline options for potential homebuyers that could potentially open up the market. And while no region of the country is immune to unemployment, the federal government’s presence in the DMV typically leaves Chowdhury’s sphere of influence well-positioned in terms of jobs, and residents having the financial security to purchase a home.

Also emanating from the federal government is relief for aspiring homeowners. A new law makes buying a home more affordable for new homeowners, by reducing mortgage insurance costs by 30% — from 0.85% to 0.55% — for buyers who use Federal Housing Administration loans. This reduction could save homeowners with FHA loans an average of $800 this year.

But the pros of the DMV real estate market are going up against negative driving trends nationwide. These include inflation and high interest rates and how both are shaping the buying and selling of homes in the DMV.

“If buyers are expecting that rates will go down to 3%, 4% or 5%, they are wrong,” Chowdhury says. “Interest rates have been hovering between 6% and 7%, and they will be remaining there.”

Making a bad situation worse is the fact that demand for houses in Maryland still outpaces supply by a significant margin.

“It’s best to buy now versus later because of the lack of inventory in the market,” Chowdhury says. “With the lack of inventory, the prices keep going up, so the sooner the buyers buy, the more affordable it is for them.”

The current average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is 6.97%.

“What I’m seeing more and more are buyers who are now going for the interest-only loans,” Chowdhury says. “Then, when the rates are normal, they’ll refinance. I’ve heard a lot of lenders say, ‘You marry the price and you date the rate.’”

She adds, “If you look at the 15-year average rate for the 30-year fixed mortgage, it’s below 6%. So 6.5% — I would say we’re still good in terms of that.”

Another trend driving the market is loan packages.

“No-documentation loans and stated income loans have started coming back” Chowdhury says. “Adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans — five year, 10-year, 15-year ARMS, those are back. Anything that could help the buyers is good for our market here in the DMV. We can see that prices are still going up in the areas where there’s more demand for houses. In order to secure the lower trajectory of cost, buyers are purchasing homes with whatever they can get as far as locking in a lower payment, and then refinancing when the market settles down.”

Chowdhury says real estate agents like herself are contacting potential sellers to share insight that could assist them in navigating their end of the real estate equation.

“As real estate agents who want to do our little bit to help with this low inventory, we are contacting potential sellers because nowadays, there’s nothing called, ‘Living in a house for 30 years,’” she says. “During the 30-year-mortgage, the average buyer stays in a house for five to seven years now. So what I have actually started doing is sending a comparative market analysis (CMA) to homeowners I have worked with on the purchase of a home in the last five-to-seven years.”

A CMA is used by real estate professionals to determine a property’s current market value. The analysis at the heart of a CMA compares the property in question to similar parcels in the same area that have recently sold.

CMAs provide guidance to sellers as they determine the list price of their property. They can also help buyers understand the value of a property they are considering purchasing.

Another factor currently shaping the DMV real estate market is the uncertainty of the job market. The federal government touted strong job numbers in a recent report, and the presence of the federal government, military installations and global organizations in the DMV seemingly ensure stability for the job market. But at the same time, tech companies have been laying off thousands at a clip. Even with the strong job market in the DMV, the pandemic has taught us all how certainty in any sector can be elusive. And the stakes grow higher with so many employees working remotely, as opposed to living where they work in a certain region of the country outside the DMV.

With globalization and a U.S. economy relying on the links between industries and regions, the impact remains to be seen how layoffs at one company or in one sector can affect workers in completely different companies, sectors and regions.

Chowdhury believes that national employment statistics must remain part of the conversation when dealing with a regional real estate market, if only to stay ahead of what might be a looming calamity in terms of job loss.

“There’s uncertainty with people’s jobs right now; a lot of people have lost jobs,” she says. “I don’t know who’s going through what, but I’m going to do my best and that includes saying to folks, ‘Hey, if things are shaky for you, this is a good time to sell.’ The rest of the year may not be as good a time to sell as the first half of the year.”

Beyond the vision and command of logistics that Chowdhury brings to her calling as a real estate agent, she brings plenty of her personal side to her day job.

She speaks four languages fluently: Bengali, Urdu, Hindi and Arabic. And her focus on others informs her role as a real estate agent.

“As a minority and first-generation immigrant, I’ve always been passionate about helping people from different cultures see how their heritage and lifestyle can seamlessly coexist in America,” she says. “I stop at nothing to provide my clients with a better life, while still maintaining the culture and community that serves as their identity. I have dedicated my career to breaking the status quo and working differently. From my client concierge to our in-house architects, my bespoke level of service to clients is unmatched.”

Chowdhury pointed out that a major point of pride in her culture is hospitality and community.

“It’s in my nature and is non-negotiable for clients,” she says. “As a proud member of the United Maryland Muslim Council, I have been a voice of change and advocate for all. Whatever your next step in life is, I’m here to help you harness your authenticity and begin that next chapter. I found my American dream — let’s find yours.”

Visit SaminaSells.com to learn more.

The news and editorial staffs of the Baltimore Sun had no role in this post’s preparation