Current Maryland homeowners are staying put instead of selling, as rising prices and shrinking choices limit their housing options.
About 700 fewer homes were sold in Maryland in November compared to one year ago, according to Maryland REALTORS. The state recorded 4,769 home sales last month, down 12.9% from the 5,474 homes sold in November 2024.
Meanwhile, home prices are on the rise. The average home sold for $521,146, jumping 6.7% year over year. The median sales price on the other hand was $430,000, up just 1.2%.
That gap between the average and median sales prices shows the “lock-in effect” that the housing market is currently experiencing. Higher-priced homes are selling more easily, which is driving up the average price. But the median sales price isn’t increasing as rapidly because many current homeowners aren’t moving.
“The lock-in effect occurs when current homeowners stay put, even when they need or want to move, because they cannot find affordable or suitable homes to move into,” reads a news release from Maryland REALTORS.
Without enough affordable housing options, lower- and moderate-income households are left in the lurch, says Denise Lewis, 2026 President of Maryland REALTORS.
“When the average price is growing more than five times faster than the median price, it shows that Maryland’s housing market is increasingly serving only the top end,” Lewis said in a statement. “Families across the state need attainable options. We encourage the General Assembly to consider practical reforms that have worked elsewhere to help expand housing opportunity.”
George Mason University’s Mercatus Center in September published recommendations for how state and local governments can improve housing availability and affordability. Some of these include allowing transit-oriented development; limiting parking mandates; and permitting the construction and rental of accessory dwelling units like backyard cottages, basement apartments, and converted garages.
“Maryland’s home prices are among the slowest growing in the nation since 2005, and yet those prices remain higher than in any bordering state,” said Salim Furth, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, in a statement. “There is clearly room to make it easier, cheaper, and less uncertain to build homes in the Old-Line State.”
