The housing market in Baltimore is slowly improving to a steady, monthly rate, according to housing consultant Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel. However, it’s been a tough 12 months for the city. Since the end of the homebuyer tax credit in the spring of 2010, there was a 48.7% drop in pending home sales. More than 2,700 contracts were signed from buyers and sellers in May, roughly half the a year earlier but up 0.7% from April. And, deals are getting done quicker. “The average number of days from original list to contract for properties that closed in May was 119 days, two weeks faster than the 133-day average in April but 14 days slower than the same month last year,” Miller Samuel said in a release. Although the average sale prices increased 3.2% to $221,950 in May from the previous month, it remained lower than last year. Write to Matthew Torres