Baltimore’s Hottest Houses of 2021

As most people know, the housing market this past year was crazy! There were times when I wrote the Hot House article on Monday, and by the time I submitted it on Tuesday, the sale would be pending, so I’d have to start over with a new house.

All of the real estate agents I know were super busy from about March through August, when things began to slow down. The sweet spot for home prices was between $350,000 and $650,000. The most expensive house I featured was Charlcote House for $4.99 million (now $4.25 mil) and the least expensive was the green mid-century modern house at $239k, which sold within a week for $259k.

Out of 33 houses I featured in this column, 16 of them have sold, and two are pending. Of the 16 sales, nine sold below the asking price. Three of the featured houses are still on the market, four have been taken off, and seven have dropped their prices. Many of the houses which sold gave buyers a week to submit their bids and there were bidding wars on several of them.

The two most popular houses, according to “likes” on the post, were the green mid-century modern house and the glass house barn. And according to comments, people either really loved these two houses or hated them!

The Glass Barn was really an amazing place, built with steel beam, skyscraper construction techniques and top-to-bottom glass windows on the long sides of the barn. One side looks out over the Big Gunpowder Falls and the other over the landscaped and wooded land. Many of the comments wondered how anyone could live in a fishbowl where anyone could be watching you. Others just loved the light in the house!

The green mid-century modern house attracted national attention from lovers of the MCM style. People marveled at how much of the original architecture remained and how previous owners had stuck with that look over the years. Others couldn’t get over the small size of the house and the vibrant paint colors. But the house sold with multiple bids in just a week, so I guess someone loved it!

A completely different house which garnered much appreciation was 15 Charlcote Place, also called Charlcote House. It was listed for almost $5 million, although the price has dropped (a little). It was designed to be one of the centerpiece houses in Guilford by John Russell Pope, who also designed the Baltimore Museum of Art. Like the BMA, this house feels like a museum, and it’s going to take a special person to buy it and make it feel like a home.

Two of the houses I wrote about were on the street where I grew up and had special memories for me. There were a few designed by Palmer & Lamdin, for whom I am doing a deep dive with the “Dead Architects Society” and about whose houses I will always write! And one of the Palmer & Lamdin houses is the winner for most gorgeous image in a real estate ad!

I think that my favorite house was not one of the big flashy ones, but a smaller Georgian-style, set sideways to the typical plan on a quiet street in Mt. Washington. It had so much potential, and great interior and exterior spaces. Unfortunately, the house hasn’t sold yet, but it’s more space than I need!

Thank you so much for reading Hot House! I appreciate the comments that I get. I love when you tell me which houses you liked and which you didn’t. I welcome suggestions as to what houses are coming on the market, or which you think I should cover. I am headed into the new year with a lot of enthusiasm to see what the housing market has to offer!