How much house can I afford in Maryland?

All-in cost first, always. Estimate only — not a loan quote or pre-approval.

Not your state? Find your calculator here.

Maryland at a glance

Median home price
$463,449
Typical closing costs
2%–5% of price
Transfer tax
0.5% of sale price, customarily paid by split between buyer and seller
Closing custom
attorney
Homestead exemption
Maryland's Homestead Property Tax Credit is not an exemption on the home's assessed value but a credit that caps how much a primary residence's TAXABLE assessment can increase year over year — the state caps this at 10% per year, and individual counties/municipalities may set a lower local cap (0%-10%; e.g. Montgomery County uses 10% statewide except the Town of Kensington at 5%). It does not limit the property's actual market value or assessment as determined by the Department of Assessments and Taxation, only the portion subject to tax. Homeowners must file a one-time application with the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) to receive the credit; it does not apply automatically to a newly purchased home in the year of purchase.

First-time buyer / down payment assistance programs

  • Maryland Mortgage Program (MMP) 1st Time Advantage

    Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development's primary low fixed-rate 30-year first mortgage for first-time homebuyers statewide (exceptions for veterans and buyers in targeted areas), offered through DHCD-approved private lenders. Several product variants bundle down payment assistance (DPA): '1st Time Advantage Direct' has no built-in DPA but allows external assistance; '1st Time Advantage 6000' includes a $6,000 zero-interest deferred second-lien loan; percentage-based variants add DPA equal to 3%, 4%, or 5% of the first mortgage amount; and 'HomeStart' provides 6% of the loan amount in DPA for borrowers at or below 50% of Area Median Income. All deferred DPA loans are repaid when the first mortgage is paid off, refinanced, or the home is sold/transferred.

  • MMP Partner Match Down Payment Assistance

    Maryland Mortgage Program partner organizations (employers, builders, local governments, and community organizations) can match a portion of a borrower's own down payment assistance funds — up to an additional $2,500 — when paired with certain MMP first mortgage products (including 1st Time Advantage 6000 and Flex 6000).

Continue calculating

Mortgage payment calculator

Estimated all-in monthly payment for a home price you have in mind.

First-time buyer programs

Check which down payment assistance programs you likely qualify for.

Take-home pay calculator

What actually reaches your account after federal tax, FICA, and your state's own brackets — with local income tax disclosed rather than guessed at.

Related reading

Buying a Home in Winter: Why the Slowest Season Can Be the Best Deal

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Fewer listings, fewer buyers, and sellers who have a reason to be on the market in December. Here is what a winter discount is actually worth on a $400,000 house — in monthly payment, in lifetime interest, and in the seller concessions a quiet market makes possible — and the three ways a winter purchase goes wrong.

Closing Costs in Maryland: What You'll Actually Pay

9 min read

Maryland stacks a 0.5% state transfer tax on top of a county recordation tax that runs from 0.5% to 1.4%. Here's what closing on a $463,449 home costs.

Guides & templates

Buying a Home With Someone Else

$4.99

The operational guide to buying property with a partner, friend, sibling, or parent — credit and DTI mechanics, title vesting, a clause-by-clause co-ownership agreement, and how the exit actually works.

The First-Time Buyer's Playbook: 12 Months to Closing Day

$4.99

A month-by-month plan for the year before you buy: what to do in each phase, what never to touch, how to document every dollar, and how to survive closing day.

Maryland guide

How to Buy a Home in Maryland: A Complete First-Time Buyer's Guide

  • Get pre-approved before you look at houses — it tells you your real budget and makes your offer competitive in Maryland's often-tight DC- and Baltimore-adjacent markets.
  • Maryland charges a 0.5% state transfer tax split between buyer and seller, plus a separate county recordation tax on top that varies materially by jurisdiction — qualifying first-time buyers get the state rate cut in half to 0.25%, with the seller customarily covering it.
  • Maryland homeowners insurance averages around $2,845/year (about 5% below the national number) and property tax averages roughly 0.92% of your home's value annually — both genuinely close to national norms, unlike Maryland's above-average home prices.

Buying a home in Maryland involves the same broad strokes as anywhere else in the country — get your finances in order, find a home, make an offer, close — but the details that actually determine your budget and timeline are specific to this state. Maryland's layered state-plus-county transfer tax system, its attorney-required closing process, its unusual "assessment cap" version of a homestead benefit, and its genuinely complex menu of first-time-buyer assistance products all change the math in ways a generic national guide won't tell you.

This guide walks through the whole process in order, with real Maryland figures at each step. It's written for a first-time buyer with no background in real estate or mortgage jargon — where a term matters, it's explained the first time it comes up.

A note before you start: everything below is general information to help you understand the process, not personalized financial, legal, or tax advice. Maryland's real estate rules vary significantly by county and municipality, mortgage terms vary by lender and your individual credit profile, and this guide can't account for your specific situation. For an actual loan quote, talk to a licensed lender; for legal questions specific to your purchase, talk to a real estate attorney licensed in Maryland.

1. Get your finances in order before you look at a single house

It's tempting to start browsing listings first, but the single most useful thing you can do before you fall in love with a house is find out what you can actually afford — and get a lender to confirm it in writing.

Check your credit first

Your credit score is one of the biggest levers on your mortgage rate. A higher score typically means a lower interest rate, which compounds into tens of thousands of dollars over a 30-year loan. Before you do anything else:

Read the full Maryland guide →17 min read · Updated 2026-08-20