By Adam Chubbuck, Team Leader, Team Alpha Charlie of Douglas Realty. Retired U.S. Navy Chief. Licensed in Maryland and Virginia.
Most people go about this in the wrong order. They check an online estimate, they either like it or they do not, and then they either act on a number that has never seen their house or they stall out entirely.
There is a better sequence. It takes an afternoon of your time spread across a couple of weeks, it costs nothing until the last step, and it gets you to a number you can actually plan around.
Here it is, in order.
Step 1: Pull Three Online Estimates, Not One
Time: five minutes. Cost: nothing.
Check your address on Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor.com. Write all three numbers down.
The point is not any single estimate. The point is the spread. If all three land within a few percent of each other, you likely have a conventional home in a neighborhood with plenty of comparable sales, and the automated number is a reasonable starting point. If they diverge widely, your property or your neighborhood is heterogeneous enough that algorithms struggle, and you should discount all three heavily.
That divergence is common in this corridor. Published 2026 figures for Severna Park ranged from $717,500 to $825,000 across four different providers. For the Pasadena 21122 zip code they ranged from $406,500 to $464,000. Those are the same communities described by four different measurement methods, and the spread tells you something real about how little any single automated number can be trusted.
What you have after this step: an order of magnitude, and a read on how reliable that order of magnitude is.
Step 2: Look Up Your Actual Tax Assessment
Time: ten minutes. Cost: nothing.
Go to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation property search and pull your record. You are looking for your assessed value, your recorded square footage, your lot size, and your bed and bath counts.
Two reasons this matters. First, assessed value is not market value and is often well below it, so do not treat it as your answer. Second, and more useful, check the record for errors. If SDAT has your square footage wrong, or the wrong bathroom count, or a finished basement listed as unfinished, that error is feeding every AVM that scrapes public records and it may be feeding your tax bill. Errors here are worth correcting regardless of whether you sell.
What you have after this step: a verified baseline on your own property facts, and possibly a tax appeal worth pursuing.
Step 3: Find Your Own Comparable Sales
Time: thirty minutes. Cost: nothing.
This is the step almost nobody does and it changes how you think about the whole question.
Search recently sold homes near your address on any public portal. Filter to the last six months. Then apply real discipline about what counts as comparable:
- Within roughly half a mile, and on the same side of any major road, river, or school attendance boundary
- Within about 20 percent of your square footage
- Similar style and era of construction
- Similar lot situation
- Critically, similar water status. True waterfront, deeded community water access, water view with no rights, and no water are four different categories, not variations on one
Look at what those homes actually settled for, not what they listed for. Then look at how long they took.
Where you will hit a wall: public portals do not show you seller concessions, price change history, financing type, or the terms behind a settlement. A closed sale at $500,000 where the seller credited $15,000 toward buyer closing costs is functionally a $485,000 sale, and you cannot see that from the outside. This is a real limitation of doing it yourself and it is the reason Step 4 exists.
What you have after this step: a genuinely educated range, and the ability to have an informed conversation instead of a hopeful one.
Step 4: Get a Professional CMA from a Local Agent
Time: a conversation and a walkthrough. Cost: nothing.
This is where the process gets serious, and it is free.
A comparative market analysis is a licensed agent’s pricing opinion built from complete Bright MLS data and informed by actually seeing your property. It gives you three things you cannot get yourself:
Complete data. Bright MLS carries concessions, price change history, days on market, financing type, and settlement terms. That is the information that turns a list of sale prices into an actual analysis.
Someone who sees the house. Condition, layout, finishes, and the specific quirks that move price. No algorithm knows your kitchen was redone or that your basement takes water.
Forward looking context. An appraisal looks backward at closed sales. A CMA also examines what is currently active and pending, which is what a buyer will be comparing you against next weekend. That is what determines whether you sell, and at what.
What to ask for when you request one. Insist on seeing the actual comparable sales and the reasoning, not just a number. A good agent will walk you through why each comp was selected, what adjustments were made, and what the range is. If someone hands you a single number with no support, get a second opinion.
A word on why this is free. Agents provide CMAs because some fraction of the people who request one eventually list. That is the business model and there is nothing hidden about it. It does not mean you are obligated to anything, and any agent who treats a valuation request as a commitment is telling you something useful about how they would handle your transaction.
This is exactly what my team’s free Maryland home valuation provides. Complete Bright MLS data, someone who works this corridor daily, and an honest number with the comps behind it. Plenty of the valuations I run are for homeowners who have no intention of selling and just want to know where they stand, and that is a completely legitimate reason to ask.
What you have after this step: a defensible, current number you can plan around. For most homeowners, this is the end of the process.
Step 5: Get a Second CMA if the Stakes Are High
Time: another conversation. Cost: nothing.
If you are actually preparing to list, or if the first CMA landed meaningfully outside what your own research in Step 3 suggested, get a second one from a different agent.
Two competent agents can produce defensible CMAs that differ somewhat, because valuation is judgment rather than arithmetic. Seeing two sets of reasoning is genuinely informative. What you are looking for is not the higher number. You are looking for whose comp selection and reasoning holds up better.
The trap to avoid. Some agents will quote a high number to win your listing and then push you toward price reductions three weeks in. This is common enough to have a name in the industry. The tell is a number with thin support and enthusiasm in place of comps. Ask both agents to justify their selections and you will usually see which one is doing analysis and which one is doing sales.
Step 6: Order a Formal Appraisal Only if You Need One
Time: one to two weeks. Cost: several hundred dollars and up.
Most homeowners never need this step. You need it when a third party has to accept the number:
- Refinancing, or removing PMI, though check your servicer’s specific requirements first because some allow alternatives
- Estate settlement, divorce, or bankruptcy
- Litigation
- A formal property tax appeal where the dollars justify the expense
- Gift or charitable property transfers
You do not need it to sell. If your buyer is financing, their lender orders one. If your buyer pays cash, there may be none at all.
Cost typically runs a few hundred dollars for a standard single family residence, materially more for waterfront, unique construction, or complex properties. Understand going in that an appraisal is built from closed sales, which in Maryland means data that is typically 30 to 90 days old, so in a moving market it lags what is actually happening.
Step 7: Recheck Annually, and Before Any Major Decision
Time: a phone call. Cost: nothing.
Values move. Maryland REALTORS reported a $465,000 statewide median for June 2026, up 3.3 percent year over year, but the variation underneath that is substantial. Baltimore City was up 6.6 percent while a January 2026 analysis put Prince George’s County down about 3.8 percent. A number from eighteen months ago is history, not information.
Refresh it before you refinance, before you take a HELOC, before you make a renovation decision, before you rebalance your insurance coverage, and before you tell yourself a story about your net worth.
The Short Version
- Curious? Steps 1 through 3. Free, one afternoon.
- Thinking about selling? Add Step 4. Still free.
- Actually listing? Add Step 5.
- Lender, court, or the IRS involved? Add Step 6.
- Everyone: Step 7, annually.
Why Local Knowledge Is the Deciding Factor
Every step above except Step 6 is available to you for free. The reason to involve a local agent is not access. It is judgment.
In this corridor, the details that move value are hyperlocal to the point of absurdity. Whether a Berrywood community pier conveys with the deed. Which side of the Severna Park school attendance boundary an address falls on, which does not follow the mailing address. Whether a Pasadena community has six feet of water at mean low water or three. Which Baltimore City blocks are appreciating and which are not, on a market where Redfin reported a citywide average of 49 days on market for the three months ending May 2026 while Zillow showed Canton homes going pending in around 10 days.
No algorithm reads any of that. It requires someone who works these streets, and it is the difference between a number and an answer.
If you want that applied to your address, reach out to Team Alpha Charlie of Douglas Realty. I have closed more than 350 homes across this corridor over the past five years and I will give you a straight number with the comps behind it, whether or not you are selling.
How to Value Your Maryland Home FAQ
What is the most accurate way to find out what my home is worth?
For most homeowners, a comparative market analysis from a local agent using complete Bright MLS data. It combines actual sales data with a property visit and includes current active competition, which automated estimates cannot see and appraisals do not consider. A formal appraisal is more authoritative for lenders and courts but is built from older closed sales and costs several hundred dollars.
Can I find out my home’s value without contacting an agent?
Yes, partly. You can pull multiple online estimates, verify your property record with the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, and research your own comparable sales on public portals. What you cannot see on your own is seller concessions, price change history, financing type, and settlement terms, all of which live in the MLS and all of which materially change what a comparable sale actually means.
Is my Maryland tax assessment the same as my home’s value?
No. Assessed value is calculated for taxation purposes and is frequently well below market value. It is worth checking your record for factual errors in square footage, bathroom count, or basement finish, since those errors feed both your tax bill and every automated estimate that scrapes public records.
How much does a home appraisal cost in Maryland?
A standard single family residential appraisal typically runs a few hundred dollars, with waterfront, unique construction, and complex properties costing meaningfully more. Turnaround commonly runs one to two weeks depending on appraiser availability.
Are free home valuations from agents actually free?
Yes. Agents provide them because some percentage of people who request one eventually list, and that is the business model. You are not obligated to anything. Any agent who treats a valuation request as a commitment is showing you how they would handle your transaction, which is useful information in itself.
How often should I check my home’s value?
At least annually, and before any decision that depends on it: refinancing, a HELOC, a major renovation, an insurance review, or a move. Maryland REALTORS reported statewide prices up 3.3 percent year over year in June 2026, but variation by jurisdiction was substantial, with Baltimore City up 6.6 percent and Prince George’s County reported down about 3.8 percent in a January 2026 analysis. A number more than a year old is history.
Sources and Dates
Figures cited above are attributed to their published source and reporting period: Maryland REALTORS Housing Statistics, June 2026. Redfin market data for Severna Park, Baltimore City, and the 21122 zip code, reporting periods November 2025 through June 2026. Zillow Home Value Index for Severna Park, Canton, and the 21122 zip code. Movoto Severna Park market trends, August 2026. Orchard 21122 market report, trailing 30 day period. PropertyIQ 21122 market data through June 2026. Prince George’s County figures reflect a January 2026 analysis. All market figures change monthly and describe aggregates rather than specific properties. Appraisal costs and turnaround vary by property and appraiser availability. Verify property records directly with the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation and school attendance boundaries with the relevant county school system. This article is general information and not legal, tax, or appraisal advice.
Let’s Talk About Your Move
If you have done Steps 1 through 3 and want a real number, send me the address. I will pull the complete Bright MLS comps, look at what you would actually be competing against, and walk you through the reasoning rather than just handing you a figure. No obligation, and no assumption that you are selling.
I am Adam Chubbuck, Team Leader of Team Alpha Charlie of Douglas Realty. I am a retired U.S. Navy Chief, a licensed Real Estate agent in Maryland and Virginia, and I have closed more than 350 homes over the past five years across the Baltimore to Annapolis corridor. My team serves buyers and sellers throughout Anne Arundel County, Howard County, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, and the surrounding markets, with deep experience supporting military, veteran, and Department of Defense families. I also run Enclave Property Management out of Pasadena, Maryland, so I see this market from the ownership side as well as the sales side.
If you are weighing a move, start with a real conversation and real numbers. Reach me directly at 443-347-6692, email [email protected], or start at TACMD.com.
Adam Chubbuck
Team Leader, Team Alpha Charlie of Douglas Realty
Douglas Realty | Licensed in MD and VA
443-347-6692 | [email protected] | TACMD.com
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Adam Chubbuck
