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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.



Ocean City, MD Real Estate Market

Source & Methodology

Analytics built by:   Location, Inc.

Raw data sources:   American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Date(s) & Update Frequency:
  • Home Values, Rents: Reflects Q2 2024. Updated quarterly.
  • Setting, Housing Stock, Homeownership: 2022 (latest available). Updated annually.

Methodology:   NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data

Ocean City, MD Housing Market Trends

With 6,915 people, 3,825 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $519,941, Ocean City real estate prices are well above average cost compared to national prices.

Large apartment complexes or high rise apartments are the single most common housing type in Ocean City, accounting for 68.01% of the town's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Ocean City include row houses and other attached homes ( 11.91%), single-family detached homes ( 10.31%), and a few duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 5.95%). This particular housing mix is relatively uncommon and characteristic of towns that are compact and walkable, and which often have a lively downtown.

Dwellings in Ocean City tend to be quite small (one, two, or no bedrooms) and owner occupied. In fact, 62.45% of the homes in Ocean City have two or fewer bedrooms.

There is a lot of housing in Ocean City built from 1970 to 1999 so parts of town may have that "Brady Bunch" look of homes popular in the '70s and early '80s, although some of these houses were built up through the early '90s as well. There is also a lot of housing in Ocean City built between 2000 and later ( 14.82%). A lesser amount of the housing stock also hails from between 1940-1969 ( 8.95%). There's also some housing in Ocean City built before 1939 ( 1.17%).

A decent proportion of the Ocean City housing stock is seasonally occupied. That is, homes and condos in Ocean City are occupied by people for a portion of the year - mainly for vacation purposes - and then locked up and left unoccupied for the remainder of the year as owners return to their primary residences. This characteristic of the Ocean City housing market speaks to its popularity as a vacation location of choice.

Ocean City Home Appreciation Rates

Appreciation rates for homes in Ocean City have been tracking above average for the last ten years, according to NeighborhoodScout data. The cumulative appreciation rate over the ten years has been 95.31%, which ranks in the top 50% nationwide. This equates to an annual average Ocean City house appreciation rate of 6.92%.

NeighborhoodScout's data show that during the latest twelve months, Ocean City's appreciation rate, at 6.59%, has been at or slightly above the national average. In the latest quarter, Ocean City's appreciation rate has been 6.02%, which annualizes to a rate of 26.34%.

Importantly, this makes Ocean City one of the highest appreciating communities in the nation for the latest quarter, and may signal the town's near-future real estate investment strength.

Relative to Maryland, our data show that Ocean City's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 70% of the other cities and towns in Maryland.

Average Home Values

Median Home Value

$519,941

Ocean City, MD Home Prices
> $1,436,000
$1,077,001 - $1,436,000
$718,001 - $1,077,000
$574,001 - $718,000
$431,001 - $574,000
$287,001 - $431,000
$144,001 - $287,000
$72,001 - $144,000
$0 - $72,000
4.5%
4.5%
8.7%
8.7%
16.7%
16.7%
8.7%
8.7%
18.8%
18.8%
27.8%
27.8%
11.0%
11.0%
0.0%
0.0%
3.6%
3.6%
0% 100.0%
% of Homes
Average

for Maryland

Very High

for nation

Number of Homes And Apartments:

3,825

Ocean City Appreciation Rates

Rent & Ownership

Average Market Rent:

$2,021 / per month

Homeownership Rate

Owners
Renters
72.2%
72.2%
27.8%
27.8%
0% 100.0%
% of Homes

Vacancy Rate

Vacant
Occupied
87.1%
87.1%
12.9%
12.9%
0% 100.0%
% of Homes

Housing Market Details

Age of Homes

2000 or Newer
1970 - 1999
1940 - 1969
1939 or Older
14.8%
14.8%
75.1%
75.1%
8.9%
8.9%
1.2%
1.2%
0% 100.0%
% of Homes

Types of Homes

Single-Family
Townhomes
Small Apt. Buildings
Apt. Complexes
Mobile Homes
Other
10.3%
10.3%
11.9%
11.9%
5.9%
5.9%
68.0%
68.0%
3.8%
3.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0% 100.0%
% of Homes

Home Size

No Bedroom
1 Bedroom
2 Bedrooms
3 Bedrooms
4 Bedrooms
5 or more bedrooms
3.9%
3.9%
15.9%
15.9%
42.6%
42.6%
32.1%
32.1%
4.5%
4.5%
1.0%
1.0%
0% 100.0%
% of Homes