Buying Before You Sell in Howard and Anne Arundel
Program and regulatory figures verified September 25, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Two of Maryland's most expensive counties carry the national baseline limit. That is the fact most likely to surprise a Howard or Anne Arundel move-up buyer.
At the baseline, despite everything
Howard County contains Columbia and Ellicott City and is consistently among the highest-income counties in the United States. Anne Arundel contains Annapolis and much of the Chesapeake waterfront. Both sit at the $832,750 conforming ceiling for 2026, the national baseline, alongside Baltimore County and Baltimore City.
Montgomery County, adjacent to Howard, is $1,249,125. The difference is $416,375 and it is entirely a function of which metropolitan area each county is assigned to. Montgomery is in CBSA 47900, the Washington area. Howard is not.
Why that matters for a move-up
Because the conforming line decides which rulebook governs the house you are leaving.
Inside agency financing, Fannie Mae B3-3.8-05, dated 09/02/2026, is published and consistent: the departing-residence offset is gross rent times 75% less that property's PITIA, leases are not permitted as income documentation, and six months of reserves apply under 12 months of property management experience.
Above the limit, individual investors set their own rules. Reserves run deeper, and some will not remove the departing payment from your ratio until the sale actually funds. That makes carrying both payments with a later recast the more dependable structure, which in Maryland also avoids recording a new lien on the departing home. See the jumbo page and the structures page.
The local taxes
Howard and Anne Arundel each set their own recordation tax rate. If you borrow against the departing home, Md. Tax-Property 12-108(e) taxes the extent to which unpaid outstanding principal debt is increased, at the rate for the jurisdiction where that property sits. Refinancing your existing balance is sheltered under 12-108(g); new money is not. See the recordation tax page.
And the cap resets on your purchase
Md. Tax-Property 9-105 withholds the Homestead Tax Credit for a taxable year following a transfer for consideration to new ownership. In counties where assessments have risen steadily against long-held homes, that gap is meaningful. Underwrite the new payment on the current assessment, and file the application by June 30 for the following taxable year. See the homestead reset page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Howard County a high-cost county for conforming loan limits?
No. Howard County sits at the $832,750 baseline for 2026, as do Anne Arundel, Baltimore County and Baltimore City. Adjacent Montgomery County is $1,249,125 because it sits in the Washington metropolitan area, a gap of $416,375.
Why do Howard and Montgomery counties have different loan limits?
Conforming limits are calculated per metropolitan statistical area rather than by local wealth or home prices. Montgomery is in CBSA 47900, the Washington area, and receives its high-cost limit. Howard is assigned elsewhere and receives the national baseline.
What changes if my Anne Arundel purchase is above the conforming limit?
The departing-residence rules stop being the published agency ones in Fannie Mae B3-3.8-05 and become the investor's own. In practice that usually means deeper reserves and, with some investors, no removal of the departing payment from your ratio until the sale funds.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or real estate advice. Maryland recordation tax rates are set by each county and Baltimore City, and the Homestead Tax Credit is administered by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation; your county finance office, your CPA or a Maryland attorney, and your real estate agent each handle their own part. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.