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Our office (thanks Mike!) compiled some stats on the year to date sales transactions over the past few years and 2012 is off to the best start since 2008 from a sales (# of transactions) standpoint. Prices overall are down, from a dollar volume standpoint, but we are beating the national average of price decline. We aren’t quite back to the peak numbers of 2007, but we are getting better each year and selling some excess inventory.

88 sales year to date through April 2012 for a total dollar volume of $27,035,550 – easily our best year since 2008.

Another interesting trend is the number of new listings is slowly decreasing – 104 fewer homes were on the market through April 2012 than this time last year. We’re gaining ground and selling more homes and that is a sign of a healthy real estate market!

Railey Realty continues to be #1 in listing inventory and selection, and #1 in sales in Garrett County and Deep Creek Lake since 1995!

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

Search real estate for sale at Deep Creek Lake & Garrett County

June 16 & 17 at Broadford Lake Park – Oakland MD

$5 admission on Saturday

Features:

Live Music 11am – Midnight
2 stages

Games: Anything Floats Regatta, Cornhole Tournament, Zombie Target Practice, Mudpit Bellyflop Contest, food, beer, custom car, bike and truck show, and other cool redneck concepts.

All proceeds benefit local charities.

No coolers please.

More here.

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

Search real estate for sale at Deep Creek Lake & Garrett County

May. 17, 2012

The Garrett County commissioners voted unanimously during their public meeting on Tuesday afternoon to raise the hotel rental (accommodations) tax from 5 percent to 6 percent. Also during the three-hour session, the commissioners discussed raising solid waste collection fees, awarded a bridge construction bid, adopted a new county recreation plan, and met with Friends of Deep Creek Lake.

The Maryland General Assembly and governor recently granted the commissioners the authority to increase the local accommodations tax up to 6 percent. It was last raised in 2005. The new rate goes into effect on July 1.

The Garrett County Department of Financial Services notified local businesses in an e-mail on May 9 that the commissioners planned to raise the accommodations tax.

“The county realizes that the procedure of hotel rental tax reporting to the county to reflect the increase in the tax rate would be a hardship on those of you who execute contracts with their rental customers well in advance of the customer’s stay,” Director Wendy Yoder’s memo stated. “Therefore, the county has agreed to amend the reporting procedure in order to ease the burden on you.”

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Contracts and confirmed reservations made prior to the notification memo will be honored at the 5 percent tax rate, even if arrivals are after July 1. Reservations made after May 9 will be calculated at the new 6 percent for arrivals after July 1.

Personnel from a local vacation rental agency noted at Tuesday’s meeting the bookkeeping difficulties involved in calculating the new/old rates and arrival dates. Commissioner Jim Raley indicated the county would work with businesses during the transition period.

Also on Tuesday, the commissioners discussed raising trash collection fees. Garrett County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling manager Dave Baker suggested raising the landfill tipping fees for household/municipalities from $35 to $45 a ton, and for construction debris from $40 to $45 a ton. He also proposed increasing the collection site vehicle sticker fee from $25 to $50.

Baker noted that rates in nearby counties are much higher than Garrett County’s current ones. For example, Allegany County has a $78 annual permit fee. Its tipping fees are $45.40 per ton for household and $57.54 per ton for construction waste.

The manager indicated the increased fees would be more in line with the actual cost of operating the landfill and collection sites.

Raley said the commissioners would take Baker’s proposals under advisement.

Gary Love, Solid Waste and Recycling, presented an amendment to the county’s 10-year landfill plan for thei commissioners’ consideration. Described by Love as a “minor modification,” the amendment includes the county’s proposed Cell 5. The commissioners unanimously approved the amendment.

Love noted that Cell 4 would be completed at the landfill later this year.

In addition, the commissioners unanimously approved the 2012 Land Preservation Parks and Recreation Plan for Garrett County.

Director John Nelson, Garrett County Department of Planning and Land Development, noted the state requires plans to be updated every six years in order for entities to be eligible for Program Open Space funding. He said the county’s new plan includes a recreational trails component.

Also during their Tuesday meeting, the commissioners approved Carl Belt Inc.’s bid of $1,291,18 to construct the new Corona Bayard Road bridge, located on the border of Maryland and West Virginia. According to local purchasing agent Brian Bowers, the project is being funded primarily by the federal bridge fund (80 percent), with the West Virginia Department of Transportation and Garrett County splitting the remainder of the cost.

The commissioners also met with Friends of Deep Creek Lake, a nonprofit community group dedicated to the watershed’s protection, preservation, and restoration. Group members stressed the importance of the commissioners taking a larger role in protecting the lake and adopting a “broader watershed” view in resolving sediment issues.

Lake property owners noted the current sediment study being conducted by the Department of Natural Resources has “missing components,” including the lack of information about runoff from farms, road culverts, and parking lots.

Friends of DCL executive director Barbara Beelar indicated her group wanted to partner with the commissioners to resolve issues.

The commissioners’ next public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 5, at 9 a.m. in their meeting room at the courthouse.

More here.

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

Search real estate for sale at Deep Creek Lake & Garrett County

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News — OAKLAND — Garrett County commissioners Tuesday discussed the possibility of raising property taxes more than 7 cents. The proposed tax increase would break down to about a 4.3-cent property tax — to meet a state-projected constant yield — and another 3 cent-plus to match a loss of funding to the board of education and any other losses, according to Chairman James Raley. If residents pay $1,000 on an existing home, they would be looking at a $70 increase, said Raley. The proposed tax increase is being considered to help fund a reduction of $3.6 million in tax revenue and deal with the projected impact of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s “doomsday” budget. “We need to determine how much we want to pay as a community. In many of my discussion with folks … what resonated is how important people feel about community schools,” said Raley. “What didn’t resonate from those meetings was, is the public willing to pay more money to provide those kinds of services to keep community schools intact?” There is a reduction of more than $1.92 million in real estate tax revenue because of a reduction in the gross assessable base from fiscal year 2012 to 2013, according to Wendy Yoder, director for the Department of Financial Services. Property tax revenue is the county’s largest source of revenue, she said. The state has calculated that the constant yield rate should be $1.0331 in order to receive the same amount of real estate tax revenue in fiscal 2013 as was received in fiscal 2012. That state-projected constant yield rate is 4.31 cents higher than the current tax rate of 99 cents, according to Yoder. The progression of the county’s fiscal 2013 budget was delayed because it was contingent upon the outcome of the General Assembly, but now the county has decided to operate under the assumption that the “doomsday” budget holds, according to Yoder. “This is probably the first year in the budget process that I can remember where the budget has been this uncertain, while awaiting the outcome of the state,” said Yoder. “A special session could be called, which could change the impact on the county, but we have no other option at this time but to move forward to operate under the governor’s ‘doomsday’ budget.” Raley said he wasn’t optimistic that the board of education’s losses would be capped at $1.5 million. “As Mrs. Yoder said, we have to move forward at this point. The school board has to move forward,” said Raley. “The unfortunate and hard reality is we have to make our decision now based on the ‘doomsday’ budget because that is exactly what we have to work from.” In its current form, the “doomsday” budget reduces or eliminates state aid in a number of areas, many of which deal with education spending, according to the Associated Press. For example, $70 million in cuts would come from a reduction in per-pupil spending, which would drop from $6,761 to $6,650. The indirect impact of the budget caused a total $2.2 million loss in the state aid formula for the BOE, because of the elimination of the loss limitation. In the past, the county has always been able to go above and beyond in its appropriation to the BOE because of the maintenance of effort, said Monty Pagenhardt, county administrator. “We have been hit really hard here because of wealth and our assesments, which are actually down for next year and the declining student population,” said Pagenhardt. “It’s a double-edged sword.” In 2009, over $8 million in capital funding was used to renovate the county’s public schools, according to Pagenhardt. “We are very proud of that. In saying that, it is not the case today,” he said. The budget will also cause a 10 percent reduction to Garrett College, the elimination of cost-shifting teacher pensions and a reduction in library aid. “We did receive word that the reduction to the library system and the per-pupil reduction in state aid formula will not go into effect even though they were included in the “doomsday” budget. Because the General Assembly does not have the authority to cut mandated education aid without passing statutory changes,” said Yoder. Raley said he was fairly certain there would be a special session to address teacher pensions, adding there was $200 million of education funding on the table. The teacher pensions issue was one of the stalemates in the state budget process because the Senate had one version and the House had another version, said Raley. Pagenhardt said he was disappointed about the state’s failure to come up with a budget. “It’s a shame that the legislature couldn’t come up with a budget, which is their responsibility to do,” said Pagenhardt. “We are going to be OK. We haven’t overextended ourselves,” he said, adding that the county has been able to operate with less human and financial resources in the past. If the taxes were to be raised it would not likely stop the closings of Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools, but instead would prevent the closing of other schools in the future, according to Raley. During a special meeting on April 24, the BOE will make a final decision on the school closings. Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com More here. Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

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“Coyote in the Hills” is the name of a three-day hunting challenge being sponsored by the Mountain Maryland Quality Deer Management Association and scheduled for today, June 2, through this Saturday, June 4, in Garrett and Allegany counties. Coyotes have been growing in numbers over the past decade or so in this region.

Read full article here.

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.