Market Update · August 16, 2026 · 7 min read
Mid-August brought us something we haven't seen much of lately: inventory actually ticked higher year over year. According to HousingWire's latest data, the national active listing count reached 871,063 homes. That's an increase, yes, but here's the kicker—41.67% of those listings now carry price reductions.
Nearly 42% of sellers have already blinked.
Mortgage rates? Still stubbornly elevated. Freddie Mac's latest survey pegs the 30-year fixed at 6.67% as of August 13, 2026. The 15-year sits at 5.96%. Not terrible compared to where we've been, but not exactly the kind of relief that sends buyers flooding back into the market either.
I spent twenty years in education before I ever showed a house. One thing I learned from standing in front of classrooms: when the data contradicts itself, you're usually watching a transition happen in real time. More homes. Fewer takers. Falling pending sales. Rising price cuts.
That's what we're seeing across Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania, and Delaware right now.
The Northeast is feeling the heat this summer, but not the good kind. Limited inventory remains the common thread from Rochester to Boston—and yes, through Baltimore, Harford County, Montgomery County, and down into Anne Arundel and Howard Counties too.
Buyers are ready. They're qualified. They're watching rates. But they're also watching prices get chopped left and right, and that creates a mental stalemate. "If I wait another month, will that house in Bel Air drop another $10,000?"
Maybe. Maybe not.
Here's what I'm seeing on the ground in my counties:
Harford and Cecil Counties: Inventory inched up slightly, but we're still talking about weeks of supply, not months. Sellers who priced aggressively in June are quietly reducing now. The $450K–$550K range—our bread-and-butter zone for move-up buyers—has softened. Not crashed. Softened.
Baltimore County and Baltimore City: The closer you get to the city, the sharper the divide. Luxury properties are moving. Starter homes are stacking up. Zillow's research confirms the national pattern: starter homes are piling up while higher-end listings fly off the market. I just had an open house in Towson—four-bedroom colonial, beautifully updated—and the showing traffic was solid. But buyers kept asking, "How flexible is the seller?"
Montgomery and Howard Counties: These are always bellwether markets for DC spillover, and right now they're caught in the crosscurrents. Rates haven't dropped enough to unleash pent-up demand, but inventory has loosened enough that buyers don't feel the same urgency they did last spring. The result? Longer days on market. More negotiation. Fewer bidding wars.
DC and Prince George's County: Washington proper is holding steadier, but even there I'm seeing price cuts creep into neighborhoods that were untouchable a year ago. Prince George's is benefiting slightly from buyers priced out of DC and Montgomery, but again—only if sellers price realistically from day one.
York and Lancaster Counties, Pennsylvania: These markets run a bit cooler and more deliberate than Maryland's inner suburbs. Inventory isn't as constrained, and price cuts aren't quite as widespread—but buyers here are patient. They'll wait you out.
New Castle County, Delaware: Slower but steady. The Delaware advantage—no sales tax on real estate transactions—still draws Maryland buyers, but only when the price is right.
National pending sales dropped year over year, according to the same HousingWire report. Pending sales are your canary in the coal mine. They tell you what closed sales will look like in 30–45 days.
If pendings are down now, September and October closings will be lighter. And that puts even more pressure on sellers who are still testing the high end of the price range.
I had a seller in Fallston ask me last week, "Should I just wait until next spring?" Maybe. But if rates stay elevated—and the Fed's posture suggests they might—you could be waiting into a market with even more inventory and even more price cuts.
There's no perfect moment. There's only the best decision you can make with the information in front of you.
Real and RE/MAX shareholders approved their merger this week, with closing expected in two weeks. Real's vote was 99%; RE/MAX came in at 78.8%. I covered the implications for Maryland buyers in an earlier post, but the short version is this: consolidation in the brokerage world doesn't change the fundamentals of supply, demand, and price.
It might change how some agents operate or where they hang their license. It won't change the fact that there are more homes for sale this August than last, or that buyers still have the upper hand in most of our local markets.
If you're shopping for a home in Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania, or Delaware right now, you're in a better negotiating position than you've been in months. But leverage isn't the same as a free pass.
Start with the math. At 6.67%, a $400,000 mortgage costs you roughly $2,560/month in principal and interest (excluding taxes, insurance, and HOA). That's not cheap. But if you're renting a comparable property in Harford or Baltimore County, you're probably paying $2,200–$2,500 already—and getting zero equity in return.
Then layer in the market conditions. Forty-two percent of sellers have already reduced their price. That doesn't mean every seller will negotiate, but it does mean you should ask. Inspection credits, closing cost assistance, rate buydowns—these are all on the table in a way they weren't last spring.
And if you've been sitting on the sidelines waiting for rates to drop below 6%, I'll tell you what I tell every client: you marry the house, you date the rate. Refinancing is always an option when rates improve. But the right house at the right price? That's harder to find.
If you're ready to explore what's out there, take a look at my current listings or reach out and let's talk about what makes sense for your situation.
I opened this post with a number: 41.67% of listings now carry a price cut. If you're a seller, that statistic should shape every decision you make.
The worst strategy in a softening market is to "test the high end" and plan to reduce later. By the time you cut your price, you've already been on the market for weeks—maybe months—and buyers scroll right past listings that have gone stale.
I just listed a home in Edgewood. We priced it $8,000 below the most recent comparable sale, highlighted every upgrade, staged it thoughtfully, and had three offers in ten days. That's not magic. That's understanding what buyers are thinking when they see 42% of the competition already marked down.
Price reductions aren't a sign of weakness. They're a sign you misread the market the first time. Better to read it right from the start.
And if you're wondering what you'll actually walk away with after closing costs, transfer taxes, and agent commissions, I broke down the real numbers in this post about seller net proceeds. It's worth a read before you list.
The Fed held rates steady at their last meeting, but three voters pushed for a hike. That means the next inflation print matters. A lot. If inflation ticks back up, mortgage rates could climb again. If it cools further, we might see another dip into the low 6% range.
Either way, the gap between what buyers want to pay and what sellers want to net is narrowing. Inventory is up. Price cuts are widespread. Pending sales are falling.
That's not a crash. It's a recalibration. And if you're paying attention, there are opportunities on both sides of the transaction.
I've been doing this long enough to know that the best deals don't happen when the market is screaming hot or ice cold. They happen in moments like this—when the data is messy, the headlines are confusing, and most people are too paralyzed to make a move.
Don't be most people.
Katrina Kirton Sherrod, REALTOR® · Samson Properties · Licensed in MD, DC, PA & DE · 443-616-9770 · Katrina@kkstherealtor.com
“Ninety percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate.” — Andrew Carnegie