New Construction Homes in Maryland: How to Buy or Build, Step by Step (2026)

By Josh Tessier, Lee Tessier Team of eXp Realty Published: Nov. 10, 2026 | Updated: Nov. 10, 2026

🏗️ In Maryland, you can buy a new home from a builder or hire a builder to put one on land you own. Either way, state law protects you: your builder has to be registered with the Maryland Attorney General, your deposit has to be protected, and a new home bought from a builder comes with implied warranties of 1 year (2 years for structural defects).

This guide walks through how each path works, how long it takes, what fees to expect, and the Maryland rules worth knowing before you sign. Looking for actual communities near Bel Air? My new construction homes in Harford County guide lists them, builder by builder.

🏡 Buying new vs. building on your own lot

There are two main ways to get a brand-new home in Maryland:

1. Buy from a builder (usually in a new community) - The builder owns the land and sells you a lot and a house plan, or a home that's already going up. - It's usually the faster path. You pick from the builder's plans and options. - Your deposit is covered by Maryland's new home deposit law (Real Property §10-301).

2. Build a custom home on land you own - You own (or owned) the lot, and you hire a builder to build your house on it. - You get more choice, but it usually takes longer, and you'll handle more decisions yourself, like the lot, the plans, and often well and septic if there's no public water and sewer. - Maryland's Custom Home Protection Act applies when the contract is for $20,000 or more (Real Property §10-501).

There's a third option, being your own builder. That's covered in the permits section below.

⏱️ How long does it take to build a house?

Here's how long new single-family homes took to build in 2025, from the U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Construction:

These are U.S. averages. Census doesn't publish a Maryland-only number. Time spent finding land, picking a plan and getting approvals before the permit isn't counted. NAHB's analysis of the same Census data also put the 2025 average at 7.4 months from start to completion.

So for a home in a new community, plan on roughly 7 to 8 months from permit to move-in on average. A custom home on your own lot usually takes about a year. Every builder and lot is different, so get your builder's timeline in writing. Maryland's Attorney General recommends your contract state when the house will be started and finished, and what can delay it.

🪜 The steps, from first visit to keys

1. Get pre-approved with a lender, so you know your budget.
2. Check that your builder is registered with the Maryland Home Builder Registration Unit (more below).
3. Pick a community and lot, or buy your land. For land, check zoning, water and sewer, and septic suitability with the county before you buy.
4. Review the contract and disclosures. Have your own agent or a lawyer go through them with you.
5. Make your deposit, and confirm in writing how it's protected.
6. Permits. The builder pulls the building permit from the county (or, in some places, the town).
7. Construction and inspections. County inspectors check the work. Consider your own inspector, too, before drywall and before closing.
8. Final walk-through and occupancy permit.
9. Settlement. In Maryland, a title company handles the closing.

✅ Make sure your builder is registered

Almost every home builder in Maryland has to register with the Home Builder Registration Unit in the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division (Business Regulation §4.5-301). The builder's sales representatives have to be registered too.

How to check: - 🔎 Use the AG's registered builder lookup, or call (410) 576-6573 / toll-free (877) 259-4525. - 📝 Your contract for a new home has to include the builder's registration number (Real Property §14-117(i)). - 📣 If a builder advertises that it's registered, the ad has to show "Maryland Home Builder Registration No." or "MHBR No." (§4.5-503). - 🛡️ Registered builders must carry at least $100,000 in general liability insurance (§4.5-302).

Montgomery County is different. Builders who build only in Montgomery County aren't part of the state registry. The AG says to call the Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection at (240) 777-3636 to check that a builder is licensed there.

💵 How your deposit is protected

Buying a home a builder hasn't finished? Any money you pay before the home is done and deeded to you has to be protected in one of three ways (Real Property §10-301): - held in an escrow account kept separate from the builder's own money, - covered by a surety bond, or - covered by an irrevocable letter of credit from a Maryland bank.

That protection has to stay in place until you get the deed, get your money back, or forfeit it under the contract. It doesn't apply when the deposit is held in a licensed real estate broker's escrow account (§10-304).

Building a custom home on your land? Advance payments that add up to more than 5% of the contract price must be held in escrow (with checks made out to the escrow account, not the builder) or covered by a surety bond (Real Property §10-504). That rule doesn't apply if the contract is financed by a mortgage from a federally chartered or Maryland-regulated lender.

👉 Ask your builder, in writing: "Where will my deposit be held?"

📄 What your contract should include

Every new home contract (outside Montgomery County) has to include (§14-117(i)): - the builder's registration number, - a promise to build to all building codes in effect, - the performance standards the builder will follow, and - your right to get the AG's consumer information booklet.

Financing contingency. A new home contract is contingent on you getting a written loan commitment unless it says, in so many words, that it isn't. If it is contingent, the contract has to state the highest interest rate you have to accept and how long you have to get the loan (§14-117(j)). Paying cash or waiving it? Read that clause twice.

Deferred water and sewer charges. The contract for the first sale of a new home has to disclose the estimated cost of any deferred water and sewer charges you may owe (§14-117(a)). These can be a yearly bill on top of your mortgage, so ask about them early.

Custom home contracts need even more (§10-505 and §10-506), including: - a written contract with a draw schedule you sign separately, - the names of the main subcontractors, - how change orders work, - a statement, in bold, of whether the builder is covered by a third-party warranty program, - separately signed pages explaining mechanics' liens and how your money is held, and - lien waivers from the subcontractors and suppliers, which the builder must provide after final payment.

🛠️ New home warranties in Maryland

The warranty that comes with the sale. When you buy a new home from a builder, Maryland law gives you implied warranties that the home is free from faulty materials, built to sound engineering standards, built in a workmanlike way, and fit to live in (Real Property §10-203). Unless your builder gives you a longer written warranty, they last (§10-204): - 1 year for most defects, and - 2 years for structural defects.

If you sell during that time, the warranty carries over to the next owner. Two catches: these warranties don't cover problems a reasonably careful inspection would show when you sign the contract, and on a home that's already finished, a builder can limit them only with a separate, detailed written document you sign. Read anything labeled a warranty waiver carefully. Building on your own land? Ask the builder, in writing, what warranty you'll get.

Warranty plans. Before you sign, the builder has to tell you in writing whether it's in a new home warranty security plan (§10-602). If it is, the plan has to cover at least (§10-604):

If the builder isn't in a plan, it has to give you a written disclosure, and you have to sign an acknowledgment. You can then cancel the contract within 5 working days by written notice and get your money back (§10-603). These warranty-plan rules don't apply in Montgomery County, which has its own law (§10-610).

🧾 The Home Builder Guaranty Fund

If a registered builder leaves you with a real loss (unfinished work, warranty problems it won't fix, or a deposit it won't return), you can file a claim with Maryland's Home Builder Guaranty Fund (§4.5-701, §4.5-705): - 💲 Builders pay $50 into the fund for each building permit, and the AG notes it may be passed on to buyers. - ✉️ First, send the builder written notice and give it a chance to inspect and fix the problem. If you have a warranty plan, file with the plan first. - 📈 The fund pays up to $50,000 per claimant for one builder, and up to $500,000 total for one builder. It doesn't pay attorney's fees or consequential damages. - 📅 Generally, file within 2 years of when you found (or should have found) the problem, or within 2 years after the implied warranty runs out, whichever comes first.

The AG's Guaranty Fund page walks through the claim steps.

🏛️ Impact fees and excise taxes by county

Many Maryland counties charge a development impact fee or excise tax on each new home to help pay for schools, roads and other public facilities. Here are the rates for a single-family detached home in fiscal year 2027 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027), from each county's own fee schedule unless noted:

Rates are from each county's own fee schedule or code, linked above, except Dorchester and Queen Anne's, whose figures are the FY2026 rates the counties reported to the Maryland Department of Legislative Services (Queen Anne's code lists a base rate that the county adjusts each year). Charles and Howard publish FY2027 schedules, but their single-family totals depend on the type and size of the home, so check with the county. For Dorchester, Queen Anne's, St. Mary's and Talbot, the figure shown is the FY2026 rate; check the current rate with the county. Harford's $10,000 fee was set by Bill No. 24-033 (raised from $6,000 effective March 1, 2025). Some counties and towns also charge separate water and sewer connection fees, which aren't in this table.

New for fall 2026: Under the Maryland Housing Certainty Act (Chapter 591 of 2026), effective Oct. 1, 2026, counties and towns generally can't collect these fees on a new home until construction is done and the home meets the requirements for an occupancy permit. They can collect them up to 30 days before the final inspection. There's an exception for fees that pay off county debt taken on by Jan. 1, 2026.

👉 Ask your builder whether impact fees, water and sewer charges, and the Guaranty Fund fee are already in the price.

📋 Permits and building codes

• One code statewide, enforced locally. Maryland uses the Maryland Building Performance Standards, currently based on the 2021 International Residential Code, with state changes. Counties and some towns issue the building permits, review plans, do inspections and issue occupancy permits, and they can add local changes.
• The builder's registration number goes on the permit. A county can't issue a permit to build a home unless it includes a registered builder's number and the Guaranty Fund fee is paid (§4.5-601).
• Being your own builder. There's an exception for a landowner doing the work for their own use. The county will have you sign a statement saying so. The AG warns: if a builder who isn't registered asks you to pull the permit, you could lose rights and protections. Only pull a permit if you really are acting as the builder.

In Harford County, residential permits go through the Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits.

📊 How much new home building is happening in Maryland?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey: - Maryland issued permits for 9,345 new single-family homes (detached houses and townhouses) in 2025, down from 10,885 in 2024 (about 14% fewer). - Counting duplexes, small multifamily buildings and apartments too, permits covered about 13,358 new homes in 2025, down from about 16,823 in 2024. - The counties with the most single-family permits in 2025 were Prince George's (1,530), Baltimore County (1,152), Charles (935), Anne Arundel (873), Frederick (814) and Montgomery (804). Harford had 578, down from 777 in 2024. - The average construction value on Maryland's 2025 single-family permits was about $294,000 per home.

One source (Census). The yearly totals and the percent change are my math from the Census files. Construction value is the builder's estimated cost to build, written on the permit. It doesn't include land, and it isn't a sale price.

🤝 Should you bring your own agent?

The builder's sales rep is there for the builder. In Maryland, they have to be registered with the AG's Home Builder Registration Unit. Your own agent is there for you. Here's how I help buyers with new construction: - comparing builders, communities and incentives, - going over the contract, deposit terms and warranty disclosures with you, - asking about impact fees, HOA dues and deferred water and sewer charges before you commit, and - lining up inspections and staying on top of the timeline through settlement.

Tip: some builders want your agent with you on your first visit. Call the sales office before you go.

Need to sell your current home first? Start with a free price opinion. You'll get an instant automated home value by email, and then I'll call to set up a time to see your home. More on selling: what it costs to sell in Harford County and my home selling FAQ.

📍 Looking in Harford County?

For the local version, with communities, builders and starting prices, see new construction homes in Harford County. You might also like Bells Tower townhomes in Bel Air, the best places to live in Harford County, the Harford County housing market report for October 2026, the cost of living in Harford County and moving to Harford County.

📞 Call or text (443) 617-2099 📧 Joshua@leetessier.com 📍 Josh Tessier, Lee Tessier Team of eXp Realty, 2225 Old Emmorton Rd Ste 207, Bel Air, MD 21015

❓ FAQs

How long does it take to build a house in Maryland?

Census doesn't publish a Maryland-only number. Across the U.S. in 2025, a builder's home took about 1.4 months from permit to start and 6.1 months from start to finish. A home built by a contractor on the owner's land took 10.5 months from start to finish, and an owner-built home took 12.8 months.

How do I check if a Maryland home builder is registered?

Use the Maryland Attorney General's registered builder lookup or call the Home Builder Registration Unit at (410) 576-6573 or (877) 259-4525. Your new home contract has to include the builder's registration number. In Montgomery County, check with the county's Office of Consumer Protection instead.

Is my deposit on a new home protected in Maryland?

Yes. If the home isn't finished when you sign, the builder must hold your deposit in a separate escrow account or cover it with a surety bond or a Maryland bank's letter of credit. For custom homes on your own land, advance payments over 5% of the contract price must be held in escrow or covered by a surety bond.

What warranty comes with a new home in Maryland?

A new home bought from a builder comes with implied warranties under Maryland law that last 1 year, or 2 years for structural defects. If your builder is in a new home warranty security plan, the plan must cover at least 1 year for materials and workmanship, 2 years for major systems and 5 years for structural defects.

How much are impact fees on a new home in Maryland?

It depends on the county. For fiscal 2027 (since July 1, 2026), single-family rates for a typical home run from $1.75 per square foot in Washington County to as much as $59,854 in parts of Montgomery County. Harford's is $10,000. Since Oct. 1, 2026, these fees generally can't be collected until the home is finished.

Can I be my own builder in Maryland?

Yes. A landowner can get a building permit to do the work for their own use after signing a statement saying so. The Attorney General warns not to pull a permit for an unregistered builder, because you could lose rights and protections. Owner-built homes also took the longest to finish in 2025 Census data.

Should I use my own real estate agent for new construction in Maryland?

It's a good idea. The builder's sales representative works for the builder. Your own agent can compare builders and incentives, go over the contract, deposit and warranty disclosures with you, and keep the timeline on track. Some builders want your agent at your first visit, so call ahead.

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About the author: Josh Tessier is a Harford County REALTOR® with the Lee Tessier Team at eXp Realty, based in Bel Air. He has been licensed in real estate since 2011 and has personally sold 600+ homes, and the Lee Tessier Team has sold 5,900+. He lives in Harford County and is raising his family here. Call or text (443) 617-2099.

This post is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Laws and fees change. Read your contract and disclosures, and talk to a Maryland real estate attorney with legal questions. Statutes were checked on the Maryland General Assembly website on Nov. 9, 2026.

Sources

Checked Nov. 9, 2026.

• Maryland Code, Real Property: §10-203 and §10-204 (implied warranties); §10-301 and §10-304 (new home deposits); §10-501, §10-504, §10-505 and §10-506 (Custom Home Protection Act); §10-602, §10-603, §10-604 and §10-610 (new home warranty plans); §14-117 (contract disclosures)
• Maryland Code, Business Regulation (Maryland Home Builder Registration Act): §4.5-301, §4.5-302, §4.5-503, §4.5-601, §4.5-701 and §4.5-705
• Maryland Attorney General: Home Builder Registration Unit, Guide to Buying a New Home and Home Builder Guaranty Fund claims
• Maryland General Assembly: HB 548 of 2026, Maryland Housing Certainty Act (Chapter 591 and the fiscal and policy note's impact fee appendix)
• Department of Legislative Services: Development Impact Fees and Excise Taxes in Maryland (2025)
• Harford County: Bill No. 24-033 (impact fee)
• Maryland Department of Labor: Maryland Building Codes and COMAR 09.12.51.04
• U.S. Census Bureau: Survey of Construction, length of time and Building Permits Survey annual state and county files (2025 and 2024)
• NAHB Eye on Housing: Single-Family Home Construction Time Declines in 2025