What Has Your Montgomery County Condo Really Done Since 2016?
Everyone quotes the “average sale price,” but that number rises and falls with which homes happen to sell. This is the third report in our series: first detached homes, then townhouses, and now condominiums. To find out what an individual condo has actually gained, we went back through every closed condominium sale in Montgomery County from January 2016 through September 11, 2026 — 23,675 sales in all — and tracked the units that sold more than once. The condo story is different from the other two, and it is worth understanding why.
Part 1: Same-Home Appreciation vs. the Average Sale Price
We identified 3,071 cases where the same condominium unit sold twice between 2016 and 2026 (at least a year apart) and used those pairs to build a “same-home” price index — the same method behind the Case-Shiller index. It measures what a typical unit gained, not what a different mix of units sold for.
| Year | Same-Home Index | YoY | Since 2016 | Avg. Sale Price | Price YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 100.0 | — | +0.0% | $283,111 | — |
| 2017 | 103.9 | +3.9% | +3.9% | $298,128 | +5.3% |
| 2018 | 106.9 | +2.9% | +6.9% | $286,178 | −4.0% |
| 2019 | 111.3 | +4.1% | +11.3% | $310,897 | +8.6% |
| 2020 | 114.3 | +2.7% | +14.3% | $306,254 | −1.5% |
| 2021 | 121.1 | +5.9% | +21.1% | $324,723 | +6.0% |
| 2022 | 126.6 | +4.6% | +26.6% | $331,827 | +2.2% |
| 2023 | 132.2 | +4.4% | +32.2% | $350,819 | +5.7% |
| 2024 | 138.4 | +4.6% | +38.4% | $376,205 | +7.2% |
| 2025 | 137.1 | −0.9% | +37.1% | $394,137 | +4.8% |
| 2026* | 132.6 | −3.3% | +32.6% | $382,658 | −2.9% |
*2026 covers closings from January 1 through September 11, 2026. Same-Home Index: repeat-sales index, 2016 = 100. Avg. Sale Price: Bright MLS statistics for all closed condominium sales (excluding townhouse-style condos), Montgomery County, MD.
Part 2: Sales Volume and Days on Market
| Year | Homes Sold | Avg. Sale Price | Median Price | Avg. DOM | Median DOM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2,119 | $283,111 | $210,000 | 47 | 28 |
| 2017 | 2,286 | $298,128 | $220,000 | 45 | 25 |
| 2018 | 2,196 | $286,178 | $225,000 | 41 | 20 |
| 2019 | 2,307 | $310,897 | $236,000 | 37 | 18 |
| 2020 | 2,359 | $306,254 | $248,000 | 35 | 16 |
| 2021 | 2,935 | $324,723 | $253,000 | 31 | 13 |
| 2022 | 2,408 | $331,827 | $263,000 | 28 | 11 |
| 2023 | 2,005 | $350,819 | $275,000 | 25 | 9 |
| 2024 | 1,981 | $376,205 | $292,000 | 28 | 12 |
| 2025 | 1,911 | $394,137 | $293,000 | 37 | 19 |
| 2026* | 1,168 | $382,658 | $290,000 | 47 | 28 |
Source: Bright MLS, closed condominium sales in Montgomery County, MD. DOM = days on market. 2026 is January 1 through September 11.
What Drove the Market
2016–2019: The Long Recovery
Montgomery County entered 2016 still working through the aftermath of the 2008 housing crash, and condos had been hit hardest of all in the downturn and were the slowest to recover. With 30-year mortgage rates between roughly 3.7% and 4.5%, condo values recovered at a moderate 3–4% a year, units took about six weeks to sell, and the typical sale closed 1–2% below asking price. Condos were the entry point to the county — the median sale was around $210,000–$236,000, well under half the price of a townhouse.
2020–2021: COVID and Record-Low Rates
The pandemic briefly froze activity in spring 2020, then set off the strongest seller’s market in a generation for houses. Condos got only part of that wave. Mortgage rates fell to an annual average of about 3.1% in 2020 and under 3% in 2021, and condo sales did jump to nearly 3,000 in 2021, the highest of the period, with same-home values up about 6%. But the buyers driving the frenzy wanted space, yards, and a home office, and many were leaving apartments and condos rather than buying them. While townhouses gained about 10% and detached homes 12% in 2021, condos gained half that, and the typical condo still sold right at asking price rather than above it.
2022–2023: The Rate Shock
To fight inflation, the Federal Reserve raised rates faster than at any time since the early 1980s. The 30-year mortgage rate more than doubled, averaging about 5.3% in 2022 and 6.8% in 2023, and briefly topping 8% in October 2023. Condos actually held up reasonably well through this stretch — same-home values kept rising 4–5% a year in 2022, 2023, and 2024 — because as houses moved out of reach, some buyers stepped down to condos. But sales volume fell steadily, from 2,935 in 2021 to about 2,000 in 2023, as owners with 3% mortgages stayed put.
2024–2026: Headwinds Specific to Condos
Rates have settled in the mid-6% range, and while detached and townhouse values have merely flattened, condo values have started to slip — down about 1% in 2025 and 3% so far in 2026 on a same-home basis. Several things are working against condos at once. Monthly condo fees have risen sharply as associations pass along higher insurance premiums and, in the wake of the 2021 Surfside collapse in Florida, stricter reserve-funding and structural-inspection requirements from lenders; a buyer weighing a $600-a-month fee against a 6.5% mortgage has less room in the budget for the purchase price.
Financing has been a problem in some of the newer buildings as well: when developers could not sell units quickly enough, they rented them out instead, and once too many units in a building are investor-owned or rented, the building no longer qualifies for standard Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or FHA financing. Buyers in those buildings need cash or specialty loans, which shrinks the pool of buyers and holds down resale prices. The result is a market where well-priced units in financially healthy buildings still sell, but sellers need to be realistic: the typical condo now takes about 47 days to sell and closes just under asking price. For owners, the longer view still matters — a typical condo bought in 2016 is worth about 33% more today, and one bought at the 2019 pre-pandemic level has gained roughly 19%.
How Do Condos Compare with Detached Homes and Townhouses?
Using the same same-home method across all three reports, from 2016 through September 2026 a typical Montgomery County detached home gained about 59%, a typical townhouse about 53%, and a typical condominium about 33%. Houses had their big run in 2020–2022 and have leveled off since; condos rose more slowly and steadily, and are now the only one of the three giving ground. If you missed our earlier reports on detached homes and townhouses, just ask and we will send them to you.
What Has Your Home Done?
Countywide numbers are a starting point. Values vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, and sometimes from street to street. If you would like a same-home analysis for your own condo or building, or a no-obligation look at what it would bring in today’s market, we would be glad to put one together for you.
Ten years of numbers tell one clear story: waiting for prices to fall has not been a winning strategy in Montgomery County. Whether you are a first-time buyer, moving up, or downsizing, we can walk you through what today’s rates and inventory mean for you and how our Homefinder programs can help you find the right home — including homes that never hit the open market.
The Encore Team · RE/MAX Realty Services
Cell: 240-351-8214 · Office: 240-403-0400 x319
Charlie@TheEncoreTeam.net
About the numbers: Sales data: Bright MLS, all closed condominium sales (Ownership Interest = Condominium, excluding Interior Row and End of Row townhouse structures) in Montgomery County, MD, with close dates from January 1, 2016 through September 11, 2026 (23,675 sales). The same-home index is a repeat-sales index estimated from 3,071 pairs of sales of the same unit at least 12 months apart, excluding pairs where the recorded square footage changed more than 15% or the price ratio was outside 0.5–3.0. Mortgage rates: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey annual averages. 2026 figures are year-to-date and will change as the year closes out. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
