Published September 28, 2026 in Market Update

Bel Air is still moving fast, even with more homes on the market

By Erin Kelly

Real estate, Bel Air & Harford County

If you're selling in Bel Air, here's the honest picture. More homes are coming to market. But buyers haven't stepped back. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 386 homes sold across Bel Air and Harford County in the three months ending July 31, 2026, with 400 pending sales in the same period. Demand is still running ahead of what's closing.

The core of Bel Air: still tight

The two largest parts of the Bel Air market, which the Real Estate Data Aggregator tracks separately, both show 1.9 months of supply. That's a seller's market by any measure. Six months is considered balanced. And in both areas, 58.1% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. That's more than half of everything that came up for sale.

Prices reflect that tightness. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price in the first area at $460,000, up 5.7% from the same three months in 2025. In the second area, the median came in at $465,500, up 13.3% year over year. Homes in both areas sold above list price on average, at 101.5% and 100.8% respectively.

The catch: more competition is real

Inventory is up. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 83 homes for sale in each of the two core Bel Air areas, up 48.2% in one and 25.8% in the other compared with the same period last year. New listings rose too. That means buyers have more to choose from than they did a year ago. The share of homes selling above list price has slipped in both areas, down 7.2 points in one and 9 points in the other. The market is still moving, but overpricing now carries more risk than it did in 2025.

Fallston and Forest Hill: still competitive, with nuance

Fallston, which the Real Estate Data Aggregator covers separately, had a median sale price of $575,000 in the three months ending July 31, 2026, flat from a year before. But 59.5% of homes went under contract within two weeks, and 51.6% sold above list. The catch: homes sold took 23 days at the median, 7 days longer than last year, and supply rose to 2.6 months. Fewer homes sold than a year ago, down 11.4%. Pricing matters more here than it did.

Forest Hill showed a different pattern. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price there at $423,000, down 8% from a year before. But homes are actually selling faster: 17 days at the median, 4 days quicker than last year. And 59.4% went under contract within two weeks. The price dip is worth noting if you're selling, but the pace of the market hasn't softened.

Street: higher prices, slower pace

The Street area, which the Real Estate Data Aggregator tracks separately, is a smaller and slower-moving part of the market. The median sale price reached $792,500 in the three months ending July 31, 2026, up 8% from a year before. But only 14 homes sold, and inventory jumped 75% year over year. Months of supply hit 3.1, the highest of any area covered here. Homes averaged 19 days on market, 9 days longer than last year. And only 46.7% went under contract within two weeks. This is a market where pricing and preparation are doing the most work.

Churchville: the tightest supply in the group

Churchville is a small market. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted just 9 homes sold and 3 for sale in the three months ending July 31, 2026. Months of supply came in at 1 month, the lowest of any area here. The median sale price was $590,000, and homes averaged 36 days on market. With so few transactions, one or two sales can shift the numbers significantly. Treat these figures as a starting point, not a firm trend.

What the wider picture says

Baltimore home prices rose 0.9% month over month on a seasonally adjusted basis in August, according to Redfin. That's consistent with what the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows locally: prices are holding or rising in most of Harford County, even as inventory climbs. Nationally, Redfin reported U.S. home prices up 3.7% year over year in August, the fastest annual growth rate in a year. The Federal Housing Finance Agency put U.S. house prices up 2.1% year over year between the second quarters of 2025 and 2026. Bel Air is outpacing those national figures in most areas.

One thing worth watching: Realtor.com reported that monthly mortgage rates rose to 6.67% in August 2026, and CNBC put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.45% as of September 24, 2026. Rates at that level affect what buyers can qualify for. That's part of why pricing precisely matters more now than it did when rates were lower.

One more thing: these numbers cover broad areas, and one street can read very differently from the ZIP code around it. If your home is in Bel Air, Fallston, Forest Hill, Churchville or Street, the area-wide figures are a starting point. Your specific block, condition and price range may tell a different story.