Howard County, MD housing market
Data through Aug 2026 · Seller's market · leverage 14
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Home Value
$632,563
+0.6% vs. a year ago
Buyer Leverage Score
14
Sep 2026
Months of Supply
1.7 months
Aug 2026
Days on Market
35 days
Sep 2026
Price Cut %
27%
Sep 2026
Sale-to-List Ratio
100.6%
Aug 2026
Mtg Payment as % of Income
32%
Aug 2026
Rental Rate
$2,387/mo
Aug 2026
Overvalued %
9.3%
Aug 2026
Expected Disaster Loss
$47
Dec 2025
What this means
- Valuation. Prices are roughly in line with local incomes (+9% vs. this area's pre-2020 price-to-income norm).
- Prices. Home values are up 0.6% over the past year (U.S.: +1.2%).
- Supply. Listings are 43% below the 2017-19 norm and rising (+8% vs. a year ago): still a tight market.
- Negotiating. Buyer leverage is low (14/100; U.S.: 54): homes typically sell at or above asking (100.6% of list); 27% of listings had a price cut (U.S.: 26%).
- Affordability. A mortgage on the typical home takes 32% of the median household income (U.S.: 35%); it takes about $160k a year to keep the payment at 30% of gross pay. That includes about $1,616 a year for home insurance (U.S.: $1,790).
- Buy vs. rent. Buying costs about $1,618/mo more than renting a typical home (mortgage payment vs. typical rent).
- Disaster risk. FEMA expects about $47 a year in natural-disaster damage per $100k of building value (U.S.: $155), mostly from flooding.
- Outlook. Leaning up: likely −5% to +11% over the next 12 months (74% chance of a rise).
Next 12 months
Leaning up
Prices are more likely to rise than fall over the next year. Likely change: −5.4% to +11.0% (80% range; middle estimate +4.1%), chance of a rise 74%, of a 5%+ drop 10%.
HouseVane's model, refit every month on local market signals and national ones, trained only on data known at the time. How accurate it has been.
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ZIP codes in Howard County, MD
| Area | Home value | 1-year change | Buyer leverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellicott City, MD 21043 | $635.1K | −0.1% | 12 |
| Columbia, MD 21044 | $540.7K | +0.6% | 23 |
| Ellicott City, MD 21042 | $806.5K | +1.1% | 5 |
| Columbia, MD 21045 | $482.1K | +0.5% | 16 |
| Elkridge, MD 21075 | $485.7K | −0.8% | 19 |
| Laurel, MD 20723 | $584.9K | −0.2% | 16 |
| Jessup, MD 20794 | $486.9K | +0.2% | 6 |
| Columbia, MD 21046 | $520.4K | +0.2% | 12 |
| Clarksville, MD 21029 | $1.1M | +2.2% | 8 |
| Woodbine, MD 21797 | $810K | +2.2% | 18 |
| Fulton, MD 20759 | $1M | +1.7% | 0 |
| Marriottsville, MD 21104 | $724.9K | +0.9% | 6 |
| Glenwood, MD 21738 | $989.9K | +2.3% | 15 |
| Highland, MD 20777 | $992.8K | +2.2% | 8 |
| Savage, MD 20763 | $492.3K | +2.1% | 15 |
| Dayton, MD 21036 | $1M | +3.0% | 1 |
| Glenwood, MD 21737 | $1.2M | +2.8% | 17 |
| West Friendship, MD 21794 | $1M | +2.0% | 1 |
| Cooksville, MD 21723 | $923.2K | +1.5% | 35 |
| Annapolis Junction, MD 20701 | – | – | – |