Introduction
Each year, the Chester County Planning Commission analyzes assessment data on sales and construction to understand housing trends in the county. This information provides valuable insight to guide planning decisions and assists the county to implement the Live Goal of the Landscapes3 Comprehensive Plan.
Key Points
- Both raw and inflation adjusted housing prices have been steadily rising in the county, up to $525,000 in 2024.
- The number of annual sales in 2023 and 2024 were significantly lower than annual sales from 2012-2022.
- Median sales prices for new homes were at $589,902 in 2024.
Key Trends
- The county has been undersupplied in new housing construction, with new units added over the last 10 years trailing behind the previous decade. From 2005 to 2014, a total of 19,645 new units were added compared to 18,597 from 2015 to 2024.
- Median housing prices for apartments and attached homes have been consistently lower than single-family-attached homes.
- New housing units have been largely centered around growth areas, especially the county's boroughs.
- The Coatesville region has provided much of the county's affordably-priced housing, while Tredyffrin Township has had the most substantial range of housing prices.
Median Sales Prices
The 2024 the median sales price ($525,000) was the highest in Chester County history, even when adjusting for inflation. The median sales price has increased by nearly $150,000 over the last five years (since 2020). As sales prices continued to rise, the number and percentage of lower priced homes decreased. Only 331 homes sold for under $250,000 in 2024, down by 5.9% from 462 units 2023.
Income to Afford the Median Price Home
A household earning 100% of the Area Median Income (AMI), equal to $123,041, could afford a house of approximately $433,130, and only 34% (1,887) of homes sold were less than $433,130 in 2024. The number of sales in higher price ranges increased, with all ranges of $500,000 or more seeing a greater number of sales.
Home Sales
With high mortgage rates, many sellers chose to remain in their current homes instead of selling. This created a smaller available housing stock and a sellers' market, which contributed to higher housing prices. However, 2024 sales (5,612), increased from 2023 (5,439). Both years remained below 2022 sales (7,134).
New Home Construction
New home construction remained slow in 2024. From 2005 to 2014, a total of 19,645 new units were added compared to 18,597 from 2015 to 2024. In 2024, a total of 1,630 new units were constructed. The number of new units in 2024 across all housing types — single-family detached (569 new units), single-family attached (417 new units), and multi-family (1,639 new units) — remained consistent with 2023 construction figures.
Median Sales Price by Type
The median sales price for new homes ($589,901) decreased slightly by $7,036 from 2023 to 2024. The median price for townhomes/twins for sales of both new and existing homes has been rising significantly in the county, up to $481,000 in 2024. However, prices for new and existing attached homes including townhomes, twins, and apartments ($455,000) were significantly lower than for new and existing attached single-family homes ($578,000).
Municipal Home Sales
For municipalities with ten or more sales, Birmingham ($825,000) and Easttown ($815,500) townships had the highest median sales prices in 2024. With Coatesville ($170,000), and South Coatesville ($205,000) had the lowest. The lower cost home sales were largely in the Coatesville, East Goshen, Downingtown, Tredyffrin, and Phoenixville areas. The highest priced sales predominantly occurred in Tredyffrin, West Goshen, Willistown, and Easttown. Tredyffrin Township had the greatest diversity of home sale prices (substantial numbers of sales in both the lower and higher housing price ranges) for the fifth year in a row.
Methodology
The Chester County Planning Commission completes an annual report on housing sales and construction based on data provided by the Chester County Assessment Office. Apartment buildings are considered built when fully assessed. Construction dates for apartment construction may be delayed by up to a year due to final assessment occurring after 50% occupancy and administrative delays. Due to the delays in data, actual apartment numbers may differ from reported figures.
This report displays sales prices at the county and municipal level. Home prices are represented as median values. The median sales price is the middle figure of all sales. Average prices are not used because extremely high and/or low prices tend to misrepresent true housing values.
The data in this report represent housing types including newly built and existing single family detached, twins, townhouses, and apartments. Some transactions, including duplicate and $1.00 sales, are not included because they would misrepresent actual housing costs. Mobile homes are not included because the data are not comparable to other housing sales. Rental costs are not included.
Sources: The data for this report were obtained from the Chester County Department of Assessment. Median costs and other figures were calculated by the Chester County Planning Commission.