HUGHESVILLE, Md. -- The Southern Maryland Association of Realtors®, which represents over 1,700 Realtors® and property owners across Southern Maryland, are disappointed in the Charles County Commissioner’s June 10th decision to raise the recordation tax by 40%.
By raising this tax, Charles County will now tie Frederick County for the highest standard recordation tax rate in Maryland, however, Frederick County does not also institute a county transfer tax like Charles County does.
This is a tax that is paid by thousands of current and future county residents every year when they buy, sell, or refinance a home. Every person who will pay this tax can now expect to pay thousands of dollars more during those processes due to this decision by four of the commissioners. We would like to offer our thanks to Commissioner Gilbert “BJ” Bowling for his lone opposition to this tax increase.
June is widely recognized as National Homeownership Month, a time when we as Realtors® will try to raise awareness about the benefits of owning a home, building community, and the importance of making homeownership more attainable for all. Every family deserves to have the opportunity to reap the benefits of homeownership—from creating generational wealth to building memories for years to come.
This tax increase represents a direct assault on homeownership in Charles County. It demonstrates that the commissioners do not support having people live where they work, and that they do not support making housing affordable.
This is not “wise policy” for Charles County as Commissioner President Reuben Collins said during the work session. Nor should this have been “a no-brainer” as Commissioner Thomasina Coates said. This is a nuanced issue that will harm the current residents and the future community of Charles County.
No policy or zoning change impacts housing affordability and homeownership more severely than a tax imposed directly during the homebuying process.
The $4.3 million that this tax increase is expected to generate could have been cut or funded in a plethora of other ways. This budget could have seen cuts by delaying the rental licensing program the county recently approved, by avoiding costly internal legal fights and appeals, or by encouraging the Board of Education to utilize some of their staggeringly large unassigned fund balance. There were also several revenue alternatives and additional exemptions that SMAR and other community members and organizations presented that have seemingly been ignored by most of this board.
This tax will harm first-time homebuyers, it will harm teachers and school administrators who want to buy a home, it will harm seniors looking to downsize, it will harm first responders who want to live in the area they serve, and it will harm working families who are trying to settle down.
At a time when the housing market is already seeing tumultuous change in our region specifically, these commissioners are punishing current and prospective property owners who have a right to seek fair and affordable access to the American Dream.
We hope Charles County will remember this decision in 2026.
We will not forget.
Helen Mattingly Wernecke
2025 President, Southern Maryland Association of Realtors®