By Adam Chubbuck, Team Leader, Team Alpha Charlie of Douglas Realty. Retired U.S. Navy Chief. Licensed in Maryland and Virginia.
Both sides ask me this. Here are the actual numbers and an honest read for each.
Where the Market Is
Annapolis: Zillow put the average home value at $633,333 as of June 30, 2026, up 2.0 percent year over year, with homes going to pending in around 10 days. A February 2026 analysis projected a median around $675,000 with homes averaging about 30 days to sell.
County context: Maryland REALTORS reported an Anne Arundel County median of $535,000 with an 8 day median time to contract for June 2026. Annapolis carries a real premium over the county.
Rates: Freddie Mac reported the 30 year fixed averaging 6.67 percent as of August 13, 2026, down slightly from the prior week and up from 6.58 percent a year earlier.
If You Are Selling
Conditions are steady, and steady is fine.
Two percent annual appreciation is not a boom. It is a market holding its value in a city with genuinely limited inventory, which is what Annapolis has always been. Homes going pending in around 10 days means demand is real.
The catch is that Annapolis is not one market.
A well priced home in Eastport, West Annapolis, or Murray Hill will move quickly. Those are the bands with the deepest buyer pools.
Waterfront and anything above roughly $1.5 million runs on an entirely different clock. Thin comparable sales, a much smaller buyer pool, and marketing timelines measured in months rather than weeks. That is normal here, not a sign something is wrong. Price and plan accordingly.
What actually decides your outcome: preparation and pricing. A steady market does not rescue a house with dark photos and an ambitious price. It means the prepared houses around you sell in two weeks while yours sits, which looks worse by comparison.
Get your inspection items handled, get professional photography, and launch Thursday so your showings concentrate into the first weekend.
If You Are Buying
It is competitive but reasonable.
Ten days to pending means you need to move, but this is not a market where you get four days. Compared to Pasadena, where Zillow showed homes going pending in around 6 days, Annapolis gives you a little more room to think.
And 2.0 percent appreciation is a friendlier environment than a market running up 8 or 10 percent. You are not chasing a moving target.
Where you have leverage: the upper bands. Waterfront and higher priced property sits longer, which means more negotiating room. If you can stretch, the competition eases considerably.
Where you do not: the $400,000 to $700,000 range, where the buyer pool is deepest.
The Question Everyone Asks
Should I wait for rates to come down?
Straight answer: rates have been range bound in the mid to high 6s for a sustained stretch, and nobody reliably forecasts where they go. Waiting for a specific number is a bet on something unknowable.
Meanwhile Annapolis values rose 2.0 percent year over year. On a $633,000 purchase that is roughly $12,700 a year, plus twelve months of rent and twelve months of principal you did not build.
You can refinance a rate. You cannot refinance a purchase price.
But waiting is genuinely the right call if: your income is unstable, your reserves are thin, you carry significant high interest debt, or you might move within two or three years. Transaction costs on a short hold will exceed any gain.
The timing question is mostly the wrong question. The right ones are simpler:
- Is my income stable?
- Do I have reserves left after closing, not just enough to close?
- Will I be here at least five years?
- Can I comfortably carry the payment at today’s rate, not one I hope for?
If those are all yes, the market environment is secondary. If any is no, no market fixes it.
What Each Side Should Do Now
Sellers: get a real valuation from comparable sales in your actual neighborhood, not a website estimate. Annapolis neighborhoods vary too much for a city-wide number to mean anything for your house. Handle your pre-listing repairs. Get the photography right. Then launch Thursday.
Buyers: get fully underwritten pre-approval before you tour, not a pre-qualification letter. Decide whether walkability or water or space is your priority, because that narrows the city fast. And look at Arnold and Cape St. Claire before you commit to an Annapolis premium, just to see the comparison.
One Local Note
If you are shopping waterfront on either side, understand that value here turns on details that do not appear in a listing. Water depth at low tide, pier condition, and whether a property has true waterfront or deeded community access are worth six figures of difference.
That is worth getting right, and it is worth having someone who knows the difference.
Let’s Talk About Your Situation
City averages do not tell you what to do. Your neighborhood, your price band, and your timeline do.
Send me your specifics and I will give you a straight read, including telling you to wait if that is what your situation calls for.
Start with a free Annapolis home valuation or reach out to Team Alpha Charlie of Douglas Realty.
Quick Answers
Is it a good time to sell in Annapolis?
Conditions are steady. Zillow reported the average Annapolis home value at $633,333 as of June 30, 2026, up 2.0 percent year over year, with homes going pending in around 10 days. Preparation and pricing determine individual outcomes, and waterfront moves considerably slower than the mid bands.
Are Annapolis home prices going up?
Modestly. Zillow reported values up 2.0 percent year over year as of June 30, 2026. That is a market holding its value rather than a rapid run-up.
How competitive is buying in Annapolis right now?
Moderately. Homes go pending in around 10 days per Zillow, which is faster than average nationally but slower than parts of Anne Arundel County. The $400,000 to $700,000 range is most competitive, while waterfront and upper bracket property offers more negotiating room.
Should I wait for interest rates to drop before buying?
Rates have been range bound in the mid to high 6s with no reliable forecast, while Annapolis values rose 2.0 percent year over year. You can refinance a rate but not a purchase price. Waiting still makes sense if your income is unstable, your reserves are thin, or you may move within two to three years.
How long does it take to sell a house in Annapolis?
Zillow showed homes going to pending in around 10 days, and a February 2026 analysis put average time to sell around 30 days. Waterfront and property above roughly $1.5 million routinely takes months, which is normal for those segments.
Figures reflect Zillow Home Value Index updated June 30, 2026, Maryland REALTORS Housing Statistics June 2026, a February 2026 market analysis, and the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey of August 13, 2026. Figures change frequently and describe aggregates rather than specific properties. This is general information, not financial advice.
I am Adam Chubbuck, Team Leader of Team Alpha Charlie of Douglas Realty. Retired U.S. Navy Chief, licensed 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.
443-347-6692 | [email protected] | TACMD.com
Smile more,
Adam Chubbuck
