Homeownership: What’s Up, What’s Down, What’s Next

BY LISA MAY

As we enter another Homeownership Month, now is as good a time as ever to take stock on what is helping (and harming) the pursuit of the American Dream in Maryland. While some progress has been made, much work remains:

Supply:

• Maryland needs nearly 150,000 additional housing units to support our workforce.

• Maryland is issuing 39% fewer housing permits annually than in 2008.

• The General Assembly has enacted some housing legislation in the past two sessions, while rejecting rent control and “good cause” for nonrenewal of a lease provisions that would harm supply.

• At the urging of local governments, the General Assembly rejected efforts to tie housing production to current employment and future job growth.

• The construction industry needs 439,000 new workers nationwide to meet demand in 2025.

Buyer Composition:

• First-time home buyers fell to historic lows of just 24 percent of all buyers, compared to a historical norm of 40 percent.

• The median age of first-time home buyers reached an all-time high of 38 years old.

• In 2024, Hispanic homeownership reached a record 9.8 million households, with 238,000 new Hispanic owner-households, according to NEHREP.

• According to the NAREB SHIBA report, the gap in homeownership rates between Black and White families is wider now than it was over fifty years ago.

• Seventy-three percent of recent buyers did not have a child under the age of 18 in their home, but a growing percentage are seeking multi-generational homes.

Lending:

• Maryland’s General Assembly passed emergency legislation to protect mortgage availability through the secondary mortgage market.

• Black and Hispanic applicants are denied mortgages at higher rates than White applicants.

• Maryland’s FY 2026 budget avoided cuts to state housing programs, including the Maryland Mortgage Program (MMP), which primarily serves first-time, minority and lower-income buyers.

• While mortgage rates have settled at historic norms, the “lock-in effect” remains a barrier to homebuyer mobility.

Taxes and Fees:

• Tariffs on building materials and appliances from China, Canada, and Mexico could raise housing costs by $10,000 or more.

• The Maryland General Assembly rejected increases to property and transfer tax rates and sales taxes on real estate services in the FY 2026 budget.

• Many of Maryland’s localities are considering steep property tax increases to meet financial obligations and increases in local cost sharing with the state.

• The income and asset limits of Maryland’s Homeowners and Renters’ Property Tax Credit Program remain stagnant while housing costs and incomes have increased.

Where do we go from here?

To change the course of Maryland’s housing market and ensure that future generations can achieve their homeownership goals, there are concrete steps that should be taken. They include:

• Regulatory Reform: Given the chance to do the right thing on housing, local governments have chosen repeatedly not to. Knowing this, the state must act not only to loosen regulations that restrict necessary housing, but also to provide predictable processes for housing developers to bring new housing from concept to completion.

• Tie Housing to Economic Success: Policy makers are starting to link housing availability to workforce recruitment and retention. REALTORS® and others need to counter the narrative that housing is a cost to local economies, rather than necessary infrastructure that supports them.

• Tax Policies and Buyer Incentives: We must continue to protect the programs that serve first-time buyers and underrepresented communities, while seeking enhancements to programs that help current homeowners stay here in Maryland.

Lisa May is the Director of Advocacy and Public Policy for Maryland REALTORS®.