Hello fellow Marylanders,

I grew up in Anne Arundel County and have spent my entire life in this state. I’m now in my late 20’s and I’m college educated and have a decent job in finance.

I recently moved to the Pasadena/Glen Burnie area with my significant other, and we are fortunate to earn a little bit more than the median household income in this state. We are currently paying $2,450 for a modest, 2 bed/2.5 bath townhome (1,300 sq foot). In the past 2 weeks, a few rentals have entered the marketplace in our neighborhood (same exact floor plans), and they are charging $2,800 a month for the same townhome. I thought certainly the rental rate we currently have would be a ceiling, yet prices are still drastically increasing. What is going on right now? How are people affording to live in this state?

I looked at the rental history of this property, and in 2020 it was rented for $1,800 a month, and there’s been ZERO renovations to this property. I just cannot fathom the justification of this. We are now extremely worried that in a few months, our landlord is going to hike our rent to match the “market value”, which would be a 16% increase from our current rate.

I never thought I’d be in this position, but I feel as if staying in Maryland is no longer a viable option if we want to have kids and start a family. Is anyone else feeling our pain? Is our state government doing anything to address this crisis? I just feel completely hopeless.