Howard County Home Prices Rose In 1st Quarter Of 2024: Report

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Home prices in Howard County rose in the first quarter of 2024 as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate ranged from 6.60 percent to 6.94 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors' latest quarterly report. Compared to one year ago, the median single-family existing-home price in Howard County climbed by 8.91 percent to $550,000.

Nationally, more than 90 percent of metro markets (205 out of 221, or 93 percent) posted home price gains in the first quarter of 2024. Thirty percent of the tracked metro areas (63 of 221) experienced double-digit price increases during the same period, up from 15 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023. Seven percent of markets (15 of 221) experienced home price declines in the first quarter, down from 14 percent in the previous quarter. The national median single-family existing-home price climbed five percent from one year ago to $389,400, according to the report shared by the Howard County Association of Realtors.

“Astonishingly, greater than 90% of the country’s metro areas experienced home price growth despite facing the highest mortgage rates in two decades,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “In the current market, rising prices are the direct result of insufficient housing supply not meeting the full demand.”

Among the major U.S. regions, home prices swelled year-over-year 11 percent in the Northeast, 7.4 percent in the Midwest, 7.3 percent in the West and 3.3 percent in the South.