Fort Meade MD area rental investment. Help please!

[Yang Zhao]

Hi all,

We are relocating to fort Meade area later this year. Current looking into housing options, preferring a house/townhouse with a garage and yard. It’s not very likely that we will make this area out forever home, but we may stay around for a couple years. My questions are:

1. What areas between DC and Baltimore will see a bigger rise in home price in the next few years than other areas? 
2. If we buy a house, what are the some areas where rentals are hot? 

We’ve been looking into Severn, Columbia and some other surrounding areas, mainly in the AA county. Annapolis seems a little out of our price range for what we want. Ideally want a commute less than 45 mins to fort Meade and a good neighborhood. 

Any suggestions will be appreciated!

[Ruth Lyons]

Good comments have been provided above. The housing shortage makes this a tough time to buy if you don't want to overpay (and who does?!). It may be prudent to rent a home your first year allowing you time to get familiar with the area and time for the market to properly balance before you buy. I am noticing signs that the market is slowly starting to balance in Maryland. Interest rates are starting to inch up squelching some of the demand and more inventory is coming to market with Spring temperatures kicking in.

As Norman commented, we need more information about what you're looking for to narrow your search area. Schools are much better in Howard county if you have children, for example. The Howard county side of Laurel should do really well in coming years.