The median sold price for homes in Howard County was $475,000, representing a decrease of 4.9 percent compared to the previous month and an increase of 2.2 percent from December 2021.

According to the Bright MLS T3 Home Demand Index (HDI), the index for Howard County in December 2022 was 74, which indicates slow market conditions.

Slower new contract activity has led to an increase in inventory across the region, though overall supply remains relatively low.

Typically, a market with between four and five months of supply indicates a balanced housing market. Currently, there is just 0.59 months of supply in Howard County, higher than a year ago (0.33), but still very low. The months-of-supply metric is based on average sales activity over the past 12 months. This measure can overstate how rapidly inventory is being consumed in a changing housing market. Overall, the market is moving toward a more balanced market, with buyers having more leverage.

New listings were down 30.1 percent (165) from last year (236) and down 35 percent from the previous month (258). The average days on market for units sold was 22 days, which is a 15.8 percent increase from the same time last year (19) and 23 percent below the five-year December average of 29 days.

Active listings in Howard County were up 39.2 percent (206) compared to the previous year (148). Closed sales (257) saw a 31.1 percent decrease compared to the previous year (373) and a 6.2 percent increase compared to the previous month (242).