The Real Estate Unicorn: Severna Park Waterfront

Severna Park is notorious for waterfrontage and the waterfront lifestyle. Our town is functionally water-locked with the borders hugged by the Magothy River on one side and the Severn River on the other side. Not many residents realize the location of Severna Park is actually on the northwest section of the Broadneck peninsula. A more appropriate nomenclature would have been the “Severna Park and Arnold peninsula.”

With the omnipresent watershed, it would be a simple assumption that a primary category of local real estate would be waterfront homes. Waterfront homes are more appropriately specified as having riparian rights. In simpler terms, this is the owner’s ability to install a dock/pier, launch a boat or have reasonable use of the waterfrontage through property ownership rights.

So, Why Are Only 7.8% Of Homes Sold In Severna Park Waterfront?

That is an inconvenient statistic for buyers seeking waterfront homes. A much closer review of waterfront homes sold would display a 10-year annual average of waterfront homes sold in Severna Park is only 31 per year. Below are some key data points found in my research into the waterfront category for Severna Park for the last 10 years:

69 days: How long it takes to sell a waterfront home
$1.3 million: Average sales price of waterfront homes
$4.95 million: Highest waterfront sale in the last 10 years (5 Boone Trail, brokered by David Orso)
26%: Cash deals
1968: The average year waterfront homes in Severna Park were built

See table above for Severna Park home statistics.

The lack of waterfront real estate helps the subordinate category known as water-privileged thrive. The most common home sold in Severna Park is non-waterfront in a water-privileged community. Buyers enjoy boat slips, ramp access, kayak racks, community gathering areas and winter boat storage.

In fact, the primary buyer of a Severna Park waterfront home is a “move-up” buyer who resides locally. A common misconception about local waterfront is that buyers come from larger metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C., Philadelphia or New York. That is completely inaccurate but sounds fun and sexy.

The profile of a waterfront buyer in Severna Park is overwhelmingly a local resident raising school-aged children, with a stable local career that is thriving, who is rooted in community activities and philanthropy, is a boat owner, and has significant equity in their current home.

Any good mariner knows that navigation is the key to a smooth voyage. The same is true in waterfront real estate, and the data is our navigation chart. A savvy home buyer or home seller should be aware of critical variables to avoid making critical mistakes and to assist in making wise decisions in large financial matters such as real estate.

David Orso is the dominant Severna Park real estate agent in both waterfront and non-waterfront home sales. In the last 10 years, David has been the agent on 55 of 331 waterfront home sales in Severna Park, which is more than quadruple any other agent. Knowing the nuances of local waterfront home sales is a critical variable to success in this specific category. David’s office is conveniently located at 8 Evergreen Road in the heart of Severna Park (the white rancher across from Severn School). Stop by or schedule a private confidential conversation if you are thinking of buying or selling your home.

This branded content is brought to you by an expert in his or her respective field.