Selling a home in Anne Arundel County
If you own in Annapolis, Glen Burnie, Severna Park, Pasadena, Odenton or elsewhere in Anne Arundel County, the first questions are usually the same: what will the house sell for, what should I fix, and what will I keep after costs. This page covers the Anne Arundel County parts of those answers. Freddy Makinde is a licensed Maryland REALTOR with eXp Realty.
What you will pay at closing in Anne Arundel County
Three taxes apply when a deed is recorded. Rates below come from the sources listed at the end of this page.
| Tax | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Anne Arundel County transfer tax, under $1,000,000 | 1.0% of the price | Anne Arundel County Government, Finance Office |
| Anne Arundel County transfer tax, $1,000,000 and above | 1.5% of the price | Anne Arundel County Government, Finance Office |
| Anne Arundel County recordation tax | $7.00 per $1,000 of price, rounded up to the next $500 (0.7%) | Anne Arundel County Government, Finance Office |
| Maryland state transfer tax | 0.5%, or 0.25% for a first-time Maryland homebuyer (seller pays the full amount in that case) | Department of Legislative Services |
On a $550,000 sale, those rates work out to about $5,500 in county transfer tax, $3,850 in recordation tax, and $2,750 in state transfer tax, before any split between buyer and seller. That's arithmetic on the published rates, not a market price. Maryland law presumes the buyer and seller split these taxes equally unless the contract says otherwise, and different rules apply when the buyer is a first-time Maryland homebuyer (Real Property § 14-104). Your title company confirms the final figures. Commission, any repair credits, a mortgage payoff, and prorated property taxes come on top. The Maryland seller closing-cost guide has an estimator for your own price.
Pricing an Anne Arundel County home
Anne Arundel County stretches from Annapolis waterfront streets to inland communities like Odenton and Crofton. Freddy prices from recent sales of homes that match yours on location, type, size and condition, and shows you those sales in writing before you choose a list price.
As of August 31, 2026, Anne Arundel County's median home value was $506,653, up 1.0% year over year, with homes going to pending in around 12 days (Zillow). Zillow's pending figure measures time to a signed contract, not to settlement, and the countywide numbers blend very different markets, from Annapolis condos to larger lots further inland.
Annapolis and the county's planning regions
Anne Arundel County has two incorporated municipalities: Annapolis, the state capital and county seat, and Highland Beach. None of Severna Park, Crofton, Odenton, Davidsonville, Millersville or Jessup is incorporated, so county government handles zoning there.
The county divides its communities into nine planning regions, and as of June 2026 the County Council had approved a Region Plan for each. Each plan covers planned land use, zoning, environmental protection, transportation and public facilities for the next 20 years. Severna Park, Arnold and Pasadena are in Region 4. Odenton, Crofton and Gambrills are in Region 5. Parts of Millersville are in Region 6. Annapolis and Riva are in Region 7, and Davidsonville and parts of Edgewater are in Region 8. If you're buying land or a home you plan to expand, read the plan for that region first.
Common mailing ZIPs are 21401, 21403 and 21409 for Annapolis, 21146 for Severna Park, 21114 for Crofton, 21113 for Odenton, 21035 for Davidsonville and 21108 for Millersville.
Getting ready to list
- Order your own pre-listing review of the house so repair questions don't show up first in the buyer's inspection.
- Pull your property record from Maryland SDAT (the state assessment office) to check square footage and lot details before they show up in the listing.
- If you're in a homeowners association or a waterfront community with its own covenants, request the resale documents early. Buyers review them before settlement.
- Fill out the Maryland Residential Property Disclosure and Disclaimer Statement with your agent.
Buying in Anne Arundel County
If this will be your first home in Maryland, state law helps at settlement. The state transfer tax drops to 0.25%, and the seller pays it, along with the county recordation and transfer taxes unless the contract says otherwise (Real Property § 14-104). The Maryland Mortgage Program, run by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, offers 30-year fixed-rate loans and down payment and closing-cost assistance through approved lenders, with income and purchase price limits.
Check your offer position with the Buyer Readiness Score, then search Anne Arundel County homes.
See the full breakdown of what buyers pay at closing in the Maryland buyer closing-cost guide for a county-by-county comparison and an estimator.
Next step
Get a written plan for your Anne Arundel County home: likely sale range, what to fix, what to skip, and your estimated net.
Sources (checked September 16, 2026)
- Anne Arundel County Government, Recordation and Transfer Tax — https://www.aacounty.org/finance/tax-information/recordation-and-transfer-tax
- Maryland Code, Real Property § 14-104, who pays recordation and transfer taxes — https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/laws/StatuteText?article=grp§ion=14-104
- Ballard Spahr, Navigating Transfer and Recordation Taxes in the DMV (the $1 million rate applies to the whole price) — https://www.ballardspahr.com/insights/alerts-and-articles/2023/09/navigating-transfer-tax-and-mortgage-recordation-tax-in-the-dmv-area
- Department of Legislative Services, HB 82 fiscal and policy note (2026 session) — https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0002/hb0082.pdf
- Zillow, Anne Arundel County MD Home Values, updated August 31, 2026 — https://www.zillow.com/home-values/3152/anne-arundel-county-md/
- Maryland Mortgage Program, About MMP — https://mmp.maryland.gov/about-mmp
- Maryland Manual On-Line, Anne Arundel County municipalities — https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/36loc/an/html/anmu.html
- Maryland Manual On-Line, Anne Arundel County — https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/36loc/an/html/an.html
- Anne Arundel County, Region Planning — https://www.aacounty.org/planning-and-zoning/community-planning/region-planning
This page describes property types and costs only. It does not rate neighborhoods, schools, or safety. Anne Arundel County's finance office did not list a first-time homebuyer recordation exemption on the page cited above; readers with a specific transaction should confirm current rates and any exemption with the county Finance Office or their title company before closing, since local rates can change.