Market Update · August 11, 2026 · 4 min read
I keep a running file of market stats on my laptop, and every few weeks I sit down with a cup of tea and reconcile what the data says with what I'm seeing at open houses from Bel Air to Bowie. Usually the two mostly agree. This month they agree loudly, so let's do a proper check-in.
Per Redfin's Maryland market data, Maryland's median sale price came in around $463,000 in June 2026, up 3.0% year over year. There were roughly 25,400 homes for sale statewide, up 13.2% from a year earlier — the most meaningful inventory improvement we've seen in several years — yet supply still sits near three months, which is well short of the five-to-six months analysts consider a balanced market.
Maryland REALTORS® data tells the same story from a different angle: average sale prices statewide climbed roughly 4–5% year over year this spring, and as Maryland Matters reported in June, the state continues to struggle to build enough housing to meet demand. Homes are averaging five to six weeks on market — slower than the frenzy years, faster than a genuinely soft market.
So: more choices than last year, prices still grinding up, and a market that punishes mispricing but rewards preparation. That matches exactly what I'm seeing on the ground.
Statewide medians flatten out a very lumpy map. A few field notes from my corner of it:
The under-$400K market is still a knife fight. Starter homes and townhomes in Harford, Cecil, and parts of Baltimore County draw multiple offers in the first weekend when they're priced right. Payment-sensitive buyers cluster hard at the affordable end, because mortgage rates near 6.7% (see my rates breakdown from last week) cap what people can stretch to.
The move-up market has gone thoughtful. In the $550K–$800K band across Howard, Anne Arundel, and Montgomery Counties, buyers tour more, deliberate longer, and negotiate harder. Sellers in this band who priced like it's 2022 are the ones I see doing price cuts in week three.
Condition is currency. The spread between "turn-key" and "needs work" has widened all year. Buyers stretched on the payment don't have renovation cash left, so homes that show beautifully are commanding premiums while dated homes sit. If you're selling, this is the single most actionable fact in this post.
Inventory growth is uneven. A meaningful chunk of new listings are sellers who sat on 3% pandemic mortgages finally accepting that rates aren't going back there. Life events — job changes, growing families, estates — eventually outvote interest-rate math. That thaw is real, but it's gradual, which is why supply is up 13% and prices are still rising.
More inventory means you can finally be choosier without being reckless. My advice: get fully underwritten pre-approval, decide your true payment ceiling before you tour, and then use the market's patience to your advantage — inspect thoroughly, negotiate credits, and don't waive protections you don't have to. The leverage picture in most Maryland counties is the most buyer-friendly it's been since 2019, even though it's still technically a seller's market on the supply math.
And watch the fall window. Sellers who list in September and October are usually motivated by something real — that's historically when my buyers get their best deals.
Three months of supply is still a seller's market, but it's a professional's seller's market. The 2021 strategy of "list high, watch the frenzy" is dead. What works in August 2026:
Maryland's fundamental problem hasn't changed: we don't build enough homes for the people who want to live here, especially in the Baltimore–Washington corridor with its federal, defense, medical, and university employment base. That's the engine underneath the 3% appreciation, and I don't see it stalling. This market rewards people who act with good information and punishes people who act on national headlines.
Good information happens to be my favorite thing to give away. If you want to know what your specific home is worth in this specific market, or what your buying power really looks like right now, let's talk — and you can always see my current listings here.
Data cited from Redfin (June 2026 Maryland figures), Maryland REALTORS®, and Maryland Matters, current as of publication. Local conditions vary block by block — that's the whole reason local agents exist.
Katrina Kirton Sherrod, REALTOR® · Samson Properties · Licensed in MD, DC, PA & DE · 443-616-9770 · Katrina@kkstherealtor.com
“Buyers decide in the first eight seconds of seeing a home if they are interested. Get out of the car, walk in the door — sold.” — Barbara Corcoran