Maryland Mortgage Guide

$429,705 median — barely above the national average, but that number is doing a lot of averaging across a wildly uneven state.

Here's what actually matters: Maryland is a seller's market right now, and the DC-adjacent suburbs are where you'll feel it hardest. Montgomery County towns like Bethesda or Chevy Chase regularly push $700K–$900K for anything decent. But drive 30 minutes further into Prince George's County and you're looking at $350K–$450K for comparable square footage. Most buyers from out of state don't realize PG County is basically a different market entirely.

Baltimore proper runs cheaper — rowhouses in neighborhoods like Hamilton or Parkville can still be found in the $250K–$350K range. But the surprise that gets people is Annapolis. It sounds affordable because it's not DC, but waterfront proximity and the Naval Academy effect push prices well past $500K in most of the city proper.

The Maryland Mortgage Program (run by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development) offers down payment assistance worth up to $5,000 — useful if you qualify, but most buyers in the DC suburbs exceed the income limits.

And honestly, the traffic isn't just an inconvenience — it should change where you buy. Commute times on 270 and 495 are brutal enough that buyers routinely overpay for walkable Metro access without fully running the math on whether it's worth it.

The thing most people don't realize about buying in Maryland is how much the program terms vary depending on where you're buying. Baltimore City, Montgomery County, and the Eastern Shore are essentially different worlds in terms of income limits and what you'll actually qualify for.

The main program you want to look at is through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), specifically the Maryland Mortgage Program. It's a 30-year fixed-rate loan at below-market rates — and the rate advantage alone can be meaningful over the life of a loan. But the real draw is pairing it with Maryland 1st Time Advantage, which gives you up to $6,000 in down payment assistance as a 0% deferred loan. That means no interest, no monthly payments — you repay it when you sell, refinance, or pay off the mortgage. Not forgiven, just deferred. That distinction matters.

The catch is that income limits apply based on county and household size, and in higher-cost areas like Montgomery or Howard County, you might earn too much to qualify even if buying there still feels like a stretch.

One program genuinely worth the extra homework: the Maryland Partner Match Program. If your employer participates, the state matches their contribution 2:1 toward your down payment. Some buyers in the Baltimore metro area have stacked this with MMP for a meaningful chunk of cash at closing. Not every employer is enrolled, but it's worth asking HR directly.

These programs change — rates, limits, and availability shift. Verify current terms at mmp.maryland.gov before you assume anything you read today still applies.

The transfer taxes in Maryland will catch you off guard if you're coming from most other states. At closing, you're looking at a state transfer tax of 0.5% of the purchase price, plus county transfer taxes that vary pretty significantly — Montgomery County and Prince George's County both layer on their own fees, and it adds up fast. On a $450,000 home (pretty modest for the DC suburbs), you could be writing a check for $6,000-$9,000 just in transfer taxes, depending on where exactly you're buying. First-time buyers get a partial break — the state drops their share to 0.25% — but you still owe the county's portion.

And Maryland is a judicial foreclosure state, which matters if you're buying a distressed property or just want to understand your protections. Foreclosures here take a long time — sometimes 18 months or more — which means REO inventory moves differently than you'd expect.

The Maryland Mortgage Program through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development is genuinely useful if you're a first-timer. Their MMP 1st Time Advantage loan pairs with down payment assistance up to $5,000. Not life-changing, but real money.

Honestly the transfer tax thing is what bites people most. Budget for it early.

The thing nobody tells you before closing in Maryland: file for the Homestead Tax Credit the second you move in. You have until December 31 of the year you purchase, and if you miss it, you lose the cap on how much your assessed value can increase year-over-year — which is brutal in places like Bethesda or Columbia where values jump fast. The credit limits your taxable assessment increase to 10% annually. Miss the deadline and you're exposed to the full swing of whatever the county assessors feel like doing. File at sdat.dat.maryland.gov. Takes ten minutes.

The gotcha that catches out-of-state buyers, especially people coming down from New York or up from Virginia: Maryland has both a state and county transfer tax, plus a recordation tax — and buyers typically pay a chunk of that. Around Baltimore City or Montgomery County, you're looking at 1.5–3% of the purchase price in transfer and recordation taxes alone, on top of standard closing costs. People from states where sellers eat most of transfer taxes get genuinely blindsided by this line item. Budget for it early, not the week before closing.