Columbia 21046

Howard County, MD · 5,386 properties · updated 7/5/2026

Should you buy here?buyer-timing lens

58affordability /100

Buyer leverage is seller advantage; weigh payment burden and the 3-lens valuation before bidding.

Payment burden
25.4%
affordable
Days on market
13
daily
Price cuts
19.9%
of active
Valuation
-59.4%
vs assessor
Look up an address
61
/100
stable
stable · seller advantage · prices rising year-over-year.

Verdict grades housing conditions; buyer-timing, investor cash-flow, supply-tightness and county macro scores answer different questions — each in its own section.

Buyer / sellerbuyer-timing lens

30/ 100SellerBalancedBuyer
Seller's Market
DOM: 35d (falling) · Market Dynamics rolling median · hourly
Score Components
Payment Burden (25%)25
Valuation Gap (25%)10
Supply & Demand (20%)40
Buy vs Rent (15%)75
Cancellation Rate (10%)0
Days on Market (5%)40

Seller-favored market in 21046. Expect to pay at or near list price. Payment burden: 25.4% of median income. Median days on market: 35. Renting is approximately 83% cheaper than buying (price-to-rent ratio: 22.0).

Buyer Caution

Seller's market. Be prepared to pay near list price.

Competitive market similar to 2021-2022 — limited inventory driving prices above fundamentals.
STABLESELLER ADVANTAGE

Market is holding steady with balanced conditions. Sellers are firmly in control.

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Market snapshoteach number, once

Median price
$530,112
▴ 0.3% YoY
Days on market
13
daily · zip_data
Median rent
$2,006
ZORI
Investor score
46/100
cash-flow lens
Active listings
23
90-day

Valuation3 lenses, different anchors

vs assessor
-59.4%
Market vs assessed value — a tax-roll lag, not a deal signal.
Avg assessor$215,000
county CAMA · properties_v
vs income
—
Fair-value model not available for this market.
fair_value_scores · 10-state coverage
vs county comps
+43.7%
County-wide market — the widest, slowest signal.
Howard+43.7%
Lotvox comps · mv_valuation_gap
Read together: Above county comps but sustainable on local incomes.
Pricing detail
Price / sqft$224
Price-to-income4.2×

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How 21046 ranks in MD
percentile vs all MD ZIPs
Comparative ranking not available for this ZIP.

Affordability, supply & momentum

59SUPPLY
Tight MarketSupply Tightness

Supply is below normal — sellers are favored but buyers still have options.

Months of Supply5.0 mo
Days on Market13d
Inv vs History+50.8%
Listing Density--
Market dynamics
Price cut %19.9%
Momentumstable
LeverageSELLER ADVANTAGE
Months of supply5
Sales (90d)0
Investment analysis
Median rent$2,006
Price-to-rent22.0
Est. cap rate3.0%
Buy vs rentfavors renting

Livability

Walk score4
Transit score4
Bike score—

Historical trends

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Howard County contextmacro · jobs · debt · migration

ZIP score grades housing; county score adds macro distress (jobs, debt, poverty). They answer different questions.

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Baltimore Metro·Overpriced ZIPs·Investor ZIPs·View on Map·Howard County