Hyattsville: history and home prices
Hyattsville is on the National Register of Historic Places; that little known fact is just one of the hidden historical treasures you'll find when you get to know the town in which I grew up.
Its historical significance is preserved by remaining one of the largest groupings of relatively unaltered 19th-century buildings in Prince Georges county.
The Hyattsville Preservation Association has a mission "to discover and memorialize the history and the architecture of the City of Hyattsville, Maryland." Those architectural styles range from simple bungalows to formal Victorian home designs and everything in between.
For the trailing twelve months, the median price that single-family homes sold for in Hyattsville was $260,000 (the range was from $55,000 to $735,000).
College Park: history and home prices
In many ways College Park's history is similar to much of Prince Georges County - but very different in others. Like much of the area throughout the 18th and 19th-centuries, tobacco was the staple crop that supported much of the local economy.
College Parks' agricultural culture helped to establish the Maryland Agricultural College in 1859, which would later evolve into the University of Maryland at College Park. Students were expected to spend at least one hour per day working on the farm in addition to taking a broad range of courses from modern languages, natural sciences, English and mathematics. 
A disastrous fire destroyed the campus in 1912 which prompted the state to acquire and rebuild it. In the intervening decades, College Park's history has been inexorably linked to the growth and development of the University - which in 1988 became the flagship branch of a combined consortium of existing university facilities as well as six other universities and colleges to form the University of Maryland System.
Today, the University of Maryland at College Park has become a pre-eminent research university and consequently attracts world-class professors, academics, and thought-leaders. As a result, many bio-tech, agricultural and cutting-edge technology firms have moved to College Park and the surrounding areas to take advantage of the remarkable, intellectual-talent pool.
For the trailing twelve months, the median selling price of a home in College Park was $312,000 (the range was from $160,000 to $700,000).
University Park: history and home prices
University Park was once dominated by renegade indians from the Piscataway tribe well over two hundred years ago. Under a land grant from King Charles of England to John Deakins in the 17th century, the land on which University Park now sits was handed down from generation to generation until it was sold to the Riverdale Realty Corporation in 1884 by his descendants, James Deakins and his sister Elizabeth.
The Great Depression witnessed the change from suburban development to Incorporated Township in 1936. And the single-family-home-only policy that was established then ensured that University Park would remain free from commercial development - as it does now.
It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 and today provides an exceptional gathering place for businessmen, scholars, scientists, doctors, lawyers, judges, administrators, and elected officials. University Park renders that elusive quality-of-life balance between city and country living that so many people seek these days.
For the trailing twelve months, the median price of homes sold in University Park was $425,000 (the range was from $335,000 to $599,900).
Takoma Park: history and home prices
Takoma Park is an icon of late 19th-century America. Like many suburbs across the nation, it was created as an oasis from city life for the emerging Industrial Age middle-class.
Its founder, B. F. Gilbert, had a vision of "affordable elegance" for the community. In Takoma Park folks found open spaces and a great place to raise a family. Gilbert named it "Takoma" which is an Indian word meaning "high-up--near Heaven." Its vibrant and eclectic culture has survived to today. 
Takoma Park retains a small-town feel. Tucked into a small pocket of land north and east of Washington, DC, it was recently named one of the Top Five Best Neighborhoods in Maryland by the Maryland Commission on Neighborhoods.
For the trailing twelve months, the median selling price of single-family homes in Takoma Park was $400,000 (with a range from $160,000 to $1,032,000).
Laurel: history and home prices
Located to the north and east of Washington, DC, Laurel was known as "Laurel Factory" throughout much of the 19th-century. It was a center for both steel and cotton manufacturing, producing woolen hats, blankets, building products from its saw mills and ironworks through the middle part of the 1800's.
It became an incorporated township in 1870 and quickly began to grow. In 1899, it erected the first high school in Prince George's County with mayor, Edward Phelps, assuming much of the financial risk in building the school.
The City of Laurel's motto is "Progressio Per Populum" or "Progress Through People." Laurel's people-focused character is reflected today more than ever.
Every May, Laurel's Main Street Festival is a favorite community-event where local merchants and townsfolk socialize for good food and fellowship. Laurel's Racetrack, built in 1925, has been a favorite pastime for generations.
The median household income is $49,415 (2000 US Census data) and $58,552 for median income with a family.
For the trailing-twelve months, the median selling price for Laurel homes was $315,000 (the range was from $120,000 to $875,000).
- NUMBER1EXPERT™ 
