The typical home in St. Mary's County sold for about $433,500 in August 2026, according to Redfin. But your home's value depends a lot on where it sits in the county. Over the three months ending in August, the median sale price ran from about $347,000 in Great Mills to about $565,000 in Hollywood.
Below I'll show you what homes sold for in each part of the county, what makes one home worth more than its neighbor, and why your tax assessment and an online estimate aren't the same thing as market value. When you want a number for your own address, my free home valuation starts with the sales closest to you.
What Is the Typical Home Worth in St. Mary's County Right Now?
The median sale price in St. Mary's County was $433,549 in August 2026, up 4.5% from August 2025, according to Redfin. Redfin counted 121 homes sold that month, up 7.3% from a year earlier.
Homes took a median of 42 days to sell, three days longer than a year before. About 35% sold for more than asking, while 21.9% had at least one price cut.
What's on the market now is priced a little higher than what just sold. The median listing price was $452,475 in September 2026, based on Realtor.com data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. A listing price is an asking price, not a sale, so treat it as what sellers hope for.
A median is the middle number. Half the homes sold for more and half for less, so it tells you about the county, not about your house.
How Do Home Values Differ by Part of the County?
The highest and lowest of these six zip codes are more than $200,000 apart. Here's the median sale price over the three months ending August 2026, from Redfin's zip code pages.
| Area (zip) | Median sale price | vs. a year earlier | Homes sold | Median days on market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood (20636) | $564,756 | Up 18.1% | 49 | 42 |
| Leonardtown (20650) | $535,000 | Down 6.8% | 56 | 49 |
| Mechanicsville (20659)* | $459,148 | Up 2.0% | 66 | 38 |
| Lexington Park (20653) | $422,317 | Up 14.1% | 80 | 37 |
| California (20619) | $409,823 | Down 3.5% | 96 | 35 |
| Great Mills (20634) | $347,350 | Down 7.1% | 29 | 33 |
Source: Redfin zip code pages for 20636, 20650, 20659, 20653, 20619 and 20634. Three-month medians ending August 2026. *Mechanicsville is the three months ending July 2026.
St. Mary's County Median Sale Price by Zip Code
Three months ending August 2026
Hollywood and Leonardtown sit at the top. Lexington Park and California had the most sales, 80 and 96, which makes sense with Gate 1 at NAS Patuxent River a short drive away. Great Mills had the lowest median of the six.
Waterfront areas farther south, like Piney Point and St. Inigoes, don't show up cleanly in zip code numbers because waterfront and inland homes get averaged together. My Piney Point, St. Inigoes and Ridge page covers that part of the county.
Why Are Some Areas Up and Others Down This Year?
Usually it's about which homes happened to sell, not about an area getting more or less popular. With only 29 to 96 sales in three months, a handful of large or waterfront homes can pull a zip code's median up or down.
Great Mills is a good example. Redfin shows its median down 7.1%, but sales were up sharply over the same stretch. More lower-priced homes selling can drag the middle number down even when demand is strong.
So when you read a headline about prices in your zip code, ask two things: how many sales is that based on, and what kind of homes were they? A 7% swing on 29 sales is a small sample, not a trend.
How Fast Are St. Mary's Homes Selling, and Why Does That Matter for Price?
Most homes here are selling in about five to seven weeks. The county median was 42 days on market in August 2026, per Redfin, and the six zip codes in the table ranged from 33 days in Great Mills to 49 in Leonardtown.
Days on market tells you how much room a price has. When homes in your area go under contract in about a month, buyers are watching closely, and a home priced in line with recent sales tends to get its best attention early.
When a home sits well past the local median, buyers start to wonder why. That's often when price cuts happen, and the 21.9% of county homes with a cut in August shows how common that is. Pricing right at the start usually costs less than a reduction later.
If you're on a timeline, like PCS orders, the local days-on-market number is the first thing to plan around. My guide to selling on PCS orders builds a schedule backward from your report date.
What Makes One St. Mary's Home Worth More Than Another?
Two houses with the same square footage can sell far apart here. These are the things that move the number most in St. Mary's County:
- Drive time to the Pax River gates. Gate 1 at Pegg Road and Route 235 is the base's 24/7 gate, so homes with an easy drive to it get attention from people who work on base. My gate guide lists each gate's hours.
- Water. Waterfront, a working pier, and water views all add value, and they come with their own checks. The waterfront guide covers piers, the Critical Area and flood zones.
- Well and septic condition. Many homes here aren't on public sewer. A newer or recently inspected system takes a worry off the buyer's list. See selling a home with a well and septic.
- Lot size. In Mechanicsville, Hollywood and the northern part of the county, acreage is a big part of what buyers pay for.
- Age of the big systems. Roof, HVAC, windows and water heater. A system near the end of its life often turns into a credit at the negotiating table.
- Updates buyers can see. Kitchens, baths and flooring show up in photos and in comparable sales.
Is My SDAT Assessment the Same as My Home's Value?
No. Your assessment is a tax value set on a schedule, and it can lag the market by years. The Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) reappraises each property once every three years.
When values go up, SDAT says the increase is phased in in equal steps over the next three years. If a value goes down, the lower value applies right away. That's why a neighbor who bought last year can have a very different assessment than you do.
You can look up any home's assessment for free on SDAT Real Property Search. It's a useful history of the property, but buyers and appraisers don't price homes off it.
How Do Appraisers and Agents Figure Out a Home's Value?
Mostly by comparing your home to similar homes that sold nearby. SDAT lists three accepted approaches to market value: the sales approach, the cost approach and the income approach. For a typical single-family home, the sales approach does most of the work.
- An appraiser works for the buyer's lender and checks that the price is supported before the loan closes.
- A comparative market analysis (CMA) is what I prepare before you list. I pull the closest recent sales, plus what's active and under contract, and adjust for the differences.
- Online estimates run the same idea through a formula, but they can't see inside your home.
Online estimates struggle in a county where a 1970s rancher can sit next to a new build on two acres. My home valuation page explains what goes into a real number.
What Does Pricing Look Like With an Example?
Example scenario: This is a made-up example to show the method, not a real home or a value opinion.
Picture a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home in Lexington Park, about 1,800 square feet, with an updated kitchen and a 10-year-old roof. The zip code median of about $422,000 is a starting point, not its price.
A CMA would pull the most similar homes that sold nearby in the last three to six months. Then it adjusts for differences like a garage, a bigger lot, or an older HVAC system. If the closest matches sold within a tight range and this home has the nicer kitchen, it would likely land near the top of that range. The range comes from the comps, never from a county average.
Who Should Answer Each Part of the Value Question?
- Your agent: a CMA based on nearby sales, plus what to fix and what to leave alone before you list.
- An appraiser: the lender's opinion of value once you're under contract.
- SDAT: your assessment and its history, which drive your property tax bill.
- Your lender: how much equity you'd have for your next home after your payoff.
- Your settlement company: what you'd actually take home after costs. My guide to the cost of selling in St. Mary's County shows a sample net sheet.
What Mistakes Do Sellers Make When Pricing?
- Pricing off the county median. Your zip code, street and lot matter more than the county number.
- Pricing off the assessment. SDAT values update on a three-year cycle and phase in increases.
- Pricing off one online estimate. It can't see your updates or your septic system.
- Starting high to leave room. In August, 21.9% of county homes had a price cut, per Redfin. The first two weeks on the market get the most attention.
Four numbers get mixed up here. A median sale price is a market statistic for an area. An SDAT assessment is set for property taxes. An appraisal is an independent opinion of value for a specific purpose, usually a loan. A comparative market analysis estimates a likely price range from nearby sales and current competition. None of them is a guaranteed sale price.
How Do I Get a Real Number for My Home?
Ask whoever prices your home these four questions:
- Which recent sales did you use, and how close are they to my home?
- How did you adjust for my updates, my lot and my systems?
- What price range would get the most showings in the first two weeks?
- What would you fix before listing, and what would you leave alone?
The bottom line: your home's value comes from the sales closest to it, not from a county average, an assessment or a formula. When you're ready, request your free St. Mary's County home valuation, and see how I help St. Mary's sellers from pricing to settlement.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the house, but for context, the median sale price in the 20653 zip code was $422,317 over the three months ending August 2026, according to Redfin. A value for your address comes from the closest recent sales. See my Lexington Park page or request a free valuation.
Over the three months ending August 2026, Hollywood (20636) and Leonardtown (20650) had the highest median sale prices of the six zip codes in this guide, at about $565,000 and $535,000, per Redfin. See my Leonardtown page for more on that area.
SDAT reappraises each property once every three years and phases increases in over the next three years, so assessments often trail the market. Buyers and appraisers price homes off recent sales instead. Learn how your bill is figured in my property tax guide.
Every three years. SDAT reassesses all real property on a three-year cycle, and you can look up any property's assessment for free on SDAT Real Property Search. My property tax guide covers the Homestead Credit, which limits yearly increases on a main home.
A comparative market analysis, or CMA, compares your home with similar homes that recently sold, plus what's active and under contract nearby, and adjusts for differences like size, updates and lot. It's how an agent recommends a list price. You can request one from me for free.
Sources: Redfin: St. Mary's County housing market (August 2026) · Redfin zip code market pages: 20636, 20650, 20659, 20653, 20619, 20634 · FRED: Median listing price, St. Mary's County (Realtor.com data) · Maryland SDAT: Real Property · Maryland SDAT: Phase-in assessments. Checked October 2026; rules and rates can change, so confirm anything that affects your decision.
This article is general real estate information, not legal, lending, tax, or insurance advice. Talk with the right licensed professional about your specific property.
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