Getting a Mortgage in Maryland: 2026 Guide

The DC suburbs (Montgomery, Frederick, Howard, Anne Arundel, Prince George's, Charles, Calvert) anchor most of Maryland's mortgage volume. Montgomery and Howard carry the highest pricing and a meaningful slice of jumbo activity even above the elevated high-cost ceiling.

The Baltimore metro (Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Harford, Carroll) sits separately from the DC suburbs with its own dynamics. Baltimore City itself has a wide range of price points, with active first-time buyer activity in many neighborhoods. The Eastern Shore and western Maryland trade much closer to the national median.

Maryland has one of the highest combined real estate transfer-and-recordation tax loads in the country, which materially raises buyer-side closing costs. Each county sets its own local component, so closing-cost estimates vary by county.

For 2026, the conforming one-unit floor in Maryland is $806,500 and the FHA one-unit floor is $524,225. The DC suburbs (Montgomery, Frederick, Howard, Anne Arundel, Prince George's, Charles, Calvert, and other DC MSA counties) qualify as high-balance conforming and sit at the federal high-cost ceiling of $1,209,750. FHA limits in those counties are similarly elevated.

Practical takeaway: in the DC suburbs you can frequently stay inside agency limits well above the standard floor, which is structurally cheaper than going jumbo. Outside the DC commuter counties, the floor figures apply.

Maryland's effective property tax rate runs around 1.05% of market value statewide. Each county and Baltimore City set their own rates, with Baltimore City running materially higher than most counties. The state homestead tax credit caps annual assessment growth on a homesteaded principal residence at 10%, with each county setting a lower local cap.

Always pull the actual county or city tax line for the specific parcel and confirm the homestead tax credit application. The credit is not always automatic and must be filed once.

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development runs the Maryland Mortgage Program, the dominant first-time buyer first mortgage in the state. The 1st Time Advantage product pairs a discounted-rate first mortgage with optional down-payment assistance for income-eligible buyers.

Layered DPA products include the Maryland Mortgage Program Down Payment Assistance Loan, the Maryland Mortgage Program Partner Match (which can stack with employer or local government DPA), and the SmartBuy program (which can pay off student loan debt at closing). Funding levels and parameters are reviewed periodically.

Maryland has heavy eligible-veteran demand around Joint Base Andrews (Prince George's), Naval Support Activity Bethesda, Fort Meade (Anne Arundel), the U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis), Naval Air Station Patuxent River (St. Mary's), and the broader DC and Baltimore metros. The 2026 VA county loan limit in the DC suburbs matches the elevated high-balance figure; other counties use the $806,500 baseline.

VA funding fee on a no-down-payment first-time use is 2.15% of the loan amount; subsequent use without a down payment is 3.3%. Borrowers receiving VA disability compensation are exempt. Maryland also exempts the state recordation and transfer tax for certain veteran-borrower purchases.

Maryland charges a state real property transfer tax of 0.5% (with a reduced rate for certain first-time homebuyer purchases), a state recordation tax that varies by county (typically $5 to $10 per $1,000 of consideration), and county-level transfer taxes that are significant in Montgomery, Howard, and Prince George's counties.

Plan for total buyer-side closing costs of roughly 3.5 to 5% of the purchase price in Maryland, plus prepaid escrows. Standard purchase closings run 30 to 45 days. Maryland allows both judicial and non-judicial foreclosure; most residential foreclosures use the streamlined non-judicial process under power-of-sale clauses.