Maryland’s housing market cooled over the summer. In the Baltimore metro area, the median sold price reached $425,000 in August 2026, up 2.4% from a year earlier, while active listings rose 14.7% and showings fell 6.0% (Bright MLS, August 2026 Housing Market Report, published September 10, 2026). August is the most recent month Bright MLS has published.
Key Takeaways
- The Baltimore metro median sold price was $425,000 in August 2026, up 2.4% year over year, with median days on market at 15 (Bright MLS, August 2026 report).
- Active listings across the Baltimore metro rose 14.7% year over year even though new listings fell 8.5%. Buyers pulled back; sellers did not pile in.
- The 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.76% on September 10, 2026, up from 6.35% a year earlier (Freddie Mac).
- County-level detail lags by a month. Through July 2026, Howard County’s median was $674,900 and Anne Arundel’s was $553,500 (Maryland REALTORS®).
What is the Maryland housing market doing in fall 2026?
It’s slowing. In August 2026, there were 19,191 closed sales across the Bright MLS service area, a 3.6% drop from a year earlier, and new pending sales fell 5.8% (Bright MLS, August 2026 Housing Market Report, September 10, 2026). Prices are still rising, just more slowly than they did in spring.
The turn showed up quickly. Bright MLS reported 21,407 closed sales in July 2026, running 4.0% above the prior year. One month later the same series had flipped to 3.6% below. Neither report says as much on its own, but read back to back they put the seasonal turn inside a four-week window.
Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant attributed the slowdown to cost pressure. “Mortgage rates have remained persistently high this summer,” she said in the August report. “With home prices still rising in most markets, some homebuyers are simply hitting an affordability ceiling. Others are waiting for more certainty in both the economy and the housing market.”
Median days on market in the Baltimore metro was 15 in August 2026, one day slower than a year earlier. That is still quick by national standards, which is worth remembering when national coverage sounds gloomier than what you see here.
Our summer 2026 Maryland market update covered the June data, when the story was tightening supply rather than building inventory.
How much are homes selling for in Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Howard counties?
County-level figures run one month behind the metro numbers. The most recent county data comes from Maryland REALTORS®, Housing Statistics, July 2026, which draws on Bright MLS data and was current as of August 6, 2026. Statewide, the July median sale price was $455,000, up 2.2% year over year, on 6,328 units sold.
Here is how the local jurisdictions looked in July 2026, the newest month published at county level:
| Jurisdiction | Median sale price (July 2026) | Change vs. July 2025 | Units sold | Median days on market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County | $674,900 | +6.3% | 369 | 7 |
| Anne Arundel County | $553,500 | +9.6% | 750 | 11 |
| Maryland (statewide) | $455,000 | +2.2% | 6,328 | 14 |
| Baltimore County | $385,000 | +1.3% | 790 | 10 |
| Baltimore City | $250,000 | 0.0% | 606 | 22 |
Source: Maryland REALTORS®, Housing Statistics, July 2026 (data from Bright MLS; current as of August 6, 2026).
Price movement varied a lot by jurisdiction. Anne Arundel posted the largest year-over-year gain in the group at 9.6%, while Baltimore City’s median was unchanged from July 2025. Gaps that wide between neighboring jurisdictions usually reflect what kind of housing stock each one has and how much of it is on the market at the time.
For neighborhood-level detail, we keep guides to Annapolis, Towson, Severna Park, Catonsville and Ellicott City and Columbia updated separately.
Why is inventory rising while new listings fall?
Because buyers slowed down, not because sellers sped up. Across the Bright MLS service area, active listings at the end of August 2026 were up 12.6% year over year while new listings were 1.7% lower. Bright MLS put it plainly in its August 2026 report: “Inventory is growing as a result of fewer buyers making offers, rather than more sellers listing their homes for sale.”
The Baltimore metro shows the same pattern more sharply. New listings there fell 8.5% year over year in August 2026, yet active listings still finished the month 14.7% higher. The growth in supply is coming from homes that were already listed and have not sold.
That distinction matters if you’re deciding whether to list this fall. A wave of new sellers would mean competing against fresh, well-prepared homes. What’s actually out there is a backlog of listings that have been sitting, and a well-priced home stands out against those.
The most recent weekly reading points the same direction. For the week ending September 6, 2026, Bright MLS counted 6,179 new listings across its service area, down 2.1% from the same week in 2025, against 50,335 active listings, up 12.2% year over year (Bright MLS, Bright Research Weekly Statistics). New purchase contracts that week came in at 4,563, within 0.2% of last year’s level, and the median time to contract was 30 days.
How tight is supply across the region?
Through July 2026, most of the region still had well under three months of inventory. Maryland statewide sat at 3.0 months, down from 3.4 months in July 2025, while Howard County was the tightest jurisdiction in the region at 1.8 months (Maryland REALTORS®, Housing Statistics, July 2026).
Maryland REALTORS® defines the figure in its own footnote: months of inventory is “based on current active inventory and the average of the current month and previous 11 months of sales.” In plain terms, it estimates how long the homes currently for sale would last at the recent pace of selling.
The two datasets appear to contradict each other, and the mismatch is mostly definitional. The July county figures showed active inventory down year over year in Anne Arundel, Howard, Baltimore County and Baltimore City, while the Bright MLS metro figure for August showed active listings up 14.7%. They cover different months and draw their boundaries differently, so neither one cancels the other. August is the newer reading, and the one to watch as fall data lands.
What are Maryland mortgage rates right now?
Higher than a year ago. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.76% on September 10, 2026, up from 6.71% the week before and 6.35% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 15-year fixed averaged 6.09%, up from 6.04% a week earlier and 5.50% a year before.
Both terms rose week over week, and both sit above where they stood a year ago: the 30-year by 41 basis points, the 15-year by 59. So financing has gotten more expensive at the same time inventory has gotten easier, which is the tension buyers are working with this fall. Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist, offered a practical note alongside the September figures: “Aspiring buyers should remember shopping around for the best mortgage rate and getting multiple quotes can potentially save them thousands.”
Take that literally. Rate quotes vary between lenders on the same day for the same borrower, and over a 30-year term that gap is real money. If you’re comparing loan types before you shop, our guide to FHA, conventional and VA loans in Maryland covers the tradeoffs, and the difference between pre-approval and pre-qualification matters more in a slower market.
How does Maryland compare to the national market?
Maryland is tighter and faster. Nationally, existing-home sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million in July 2026, down 1.7% from June, with a median existing-home price of $434,100, up 2.0% year over year (National Association of REALTORS®, released August 11, 2026). National inventory stood at 1.54 million units, a 4.6-month supply, and homes sat a median of 29 days.
Set that against Maryland’s July numbers from Maryland REALTORS®: 3.0 months of supply statewide and a median of 14 days on market. Maryland had roughly two-thirds the national months of supply, and its homes sat about half as long as the national median. Howard County’s 7-day median was faster still.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun described the national picture as steadier than the headlines suggested: “Home sales have been remarkably stable, even amid the rising mortgage rate environment of the past few months.”
Read national real estate coverage at a discount here this fall. A story built on a 4.6-month national supply figure is not describing the market Maryland buyers and sellers are standing in.
What fall 2026 means if you’re selling
Price it against today’s data, not spring’s. The Baltimore metro median sold price still rose 2.4% year over year in August 2026, so values held, but showings fell 6.0% and pending sales fell 4.9% in the same month (Bright MLS, August 2026 report). Fewer people are walking through, which puts more weight on the asking price.
Your first two weeks still carry a lot of the outcome. Median days on market in the Baltimore metro was 15 in August 2026, one day slower than a year earlier, so half the homes that sold went under contract inside roughly two weeks. With active listings up 14.7%, the ones that took longer were being weighed against a wider field than last year.
That also raises the cost of getting the number wrong. In a market where inventory is accumulating, an overpriced home tends to sit and then become the listing that makes everything after it look reasonable. Our guide to how to sell your home in Maryland walks through the sequence, and what staging actually adds covers presentation without overspending.
Work out your net before you list, too. The sale price isn’t what you keep, and Maryland seller closing costs breaks down what comes out between contract and settlement.
What fall 2026 means if you’re buying
You have more to choose from and more room to ask. Active listings in the Baltimore metro were 14.7% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier, and showings were down 6.0%, which means less competition per property (Bright MLS, August 2026 report). The offset is financing cost: at 6.76% on September 10, 2026, the 30-year fixed sits 41 basis points above its year-ago level (Freddie Mac).
Those two forces pull against each other, and which one wins depends on your price point and how long you plan to stay. More inventory improves your negotiating position on price, repairs and timing. A higher rate raises the monthly cost of whatever you negotiate.
Some of the groundwork is easier now than it will be in January. Settle the financing first, because a slower market rewards a clean, ready offer. It’s also worth looking at homes that have been listed a while, since sellers still holding spring expectations are the ones most likely to move on terms. And check the assistance programs before you assume you don’t qualify: household income limits for the Maryland Mortgage Program vary by county and household size, and other first-time buyer programs set their own eligibility rules. If you’re starting from scratch, the Maryland home buying process walks through the order of operations.
Frequently asked questions
Is it a buyer’s or seller’s market in Maryland in fall 2026?
It’s shifting toward buyers but hasn’t crossed over. Maryland statewide had 3.0 months of inventory in July 2026, down from 3.4 a year earlier (Maryland REALTORS®). Meanwhile Baltimore metro active listings rose 14.7% year over year in August 2026 while showings fell 6.0% (Bright MLS). Supply is still tight, but buyers have more room than they did.
What is the median home price in the Baltimore area right now?
The Baltimore metro median sold price was $425,000 in August 2026, up 2.4% from August 2025, according to the Bright MLS August 2026 Housing Market Report published September 10, 2026. At the county level, where data runs through July 2026, medians were $674,900 in Howard County, $553,500 in Anne Arundel County and $385,000 in Baltimore County.
What is the current mortgage rate in Maryland?
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.76% on September 10, 2026, up from 6.71% a week earlier and 6.35% a year earlier. The 15-year fixed averaged 6.09%. Freddie Mac publishes a national average; the rate an individual borrower is quoted varies by lender, credit profile and loan type.
How long are Maryland homes taking to sell?
Median days on market in the Baltimore metro was 15 in August 2026, one day slower than August 2025 (Bright MLS). Statewide in July 2026 the median was 14 days, and Howard County’s was 7 days (Maryland REALTORS®). All of those are well below the national median of 29 days reported by NAR for July 2026.
Are home prices in Maryland going to fall this year?
No source cited here forecasts a decline. Prices were still rising as of the most recent data, up 2.4% year over year in the Baltimore metro in August 2026. Bright MLS does expect the pace of growth to ease, describing its outlook for the region as “a relatively slow fall housing market, with prices growing more slowly, inventory rising, and homes staying on the market longer.”
The short version
Maryland went into fall 2026 with prices still rising, inventory building and buyers moving carefully. The Baltimore metro median sold price was $425,000 in August 2026, up 2.4%, on 14.7% more active listings and 6.0% fewer showings. The 30-year fixed sat at 6.76% on September 10, 2026. County-level detail runs a month behind, and through July the region was still tight, with Howard County at 1.8 months of inventory and Anne Arundel at 2.1.
For sellers, that still supports the price, as long as it’s set against current numbers instead of spring’s. For buyers it means a wider field than a year ago, with 14.7% more active listings to work through and fewer people competing for each one.
If you’re weighing a move in the Baltimore or Annapolis area, Next Step Realty has agents working across Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties from offices in Timonium and Annapolis. Call 443-901-2200 or get in touch here and we’ll go through what the current numbers mean for your street and your timeline.
Sources
- Bright MLS, “Bright MLS August 2026 Housing Market Report: Mid-Atlantic Housing Market Cools,” published September 10, 2026, retrieved September 10, 2026. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/09/10/3359681/0/en/bright-mls-august-2026-housing-market-report-mid-atlantic-housing-market-cools.html
- Bright MLS, “Bright MLS July 2026 Housing Market Report,” published August 11, 2026, retrieved September 10, 2026. Cited for the July closed-sales figure of 21,407, up 4.0% year over year.
- Maryland REALTORS®, “Housing Statistics, July 2026” (data from Bright MLS; report current as of August 6, 2026), retrieved September 10, 2026. https://www.mdrealtor.org/HousingStats
- Bright MLS, Bright Research Weekly Statistics, week ending September 6, 2026, retrieved September 10, 2026. https://www.brightmls.com/weeklystats
- Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, “Mortgage Rates Average 6.76%,” published September 10, 2026, retrieved September 10, 2026. https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms
- National Association of REALTORS®, “NAR Existing-Home Sales Report Shows 1.7% Decrease in July,” published August 11, 2026, retrieved September 10, 2026. https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/nar-existing-home-sales-report-shows-1-7-decrease-in-july
- Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, Maryland Mortgage Program, “Eligibility,” retrieved September 10, 2026. Cited for household income limits varying by location and household size. https://mmp.maryland.gov/Pages/Eligibility.aspx
Market data in this article was current as of September 10, 2026. Bright MLS publishes metro-level figures monthly and Maryland REALTORS® publishes county-level figures on a one-month lag, so both are worth rechecking before you act on them.
