Howard County, MD real estate

What the numbers say

Howard County, MD real estate at a glance

By AstroCore · Realtor.com, US Census and Freddie Mac data

In September 2026, the median home in Howard County listed for $607,500, down 6.2% from a year earlier. That is 43% above the Maryland median of $425,000.

Homes spent a median of 35 days on the market, slower than 30 days a year ago. That makes Howard County the #1 fastest-selling of 18 Maryland counties we track.

Homeowners in Howard County pay a median of $6,987 a year in property taxes on a median home value of $597,900, an effective rate of about 1.17%. The Maryland average is 0.97%, which makes Howard County the #23 lowest-tax of 24 counties in the state with published tax data.

Renters pay a median of $2,099 a month, and $2,130 for a two-bedroom. At today's prices a typical home costs about 24 times a year's rent, which generally favors renting over buying in the short term.

With 20% down and today's 7.24% average 30-year rate, the monthly payment on a $608,000 home here comes to about $4,157 including property tax and insurance. Lenders typically want that to be under 28% of income, which works out to roughly $178,000 a year (the median household here earns $149,763).