Montco Housing Market On The Rise: 2018's Fastest Growing Areas

NORRISTOWN, PA — While the housing market in Montgomery County is continuing to improve as whole, some parts of the county are seeing returns quite disparate from others.

The median price of a home rose by 3.4 percent in 2018 up to $295,000, according to the latest statistics from the Planning Commission. That's up from about $250,000 as recently as 2012.

In addition, the total number of homes sold, 12,036, nearly equaled the 12,202 sold in 2017, which was the highest number in 10 years.

County officials are hopeful it's a sign that they're doing something right.

“The quality of life in Montgomery County, boosted by our parks and trails, great school districts, and welcoming communities, has catalyzed the recovery of our housing market," Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Chair Valerie Arkoosh said in a statement.

However, increase in median sales prices are not uniform across the board. In fact, 23 municipalities saw a loss in median sales price between 2017 and 2018, though of that group, 15 of them had an insignificant number of sales (less than five). The following eight municipalities saw both a decrease in price sold over a significant number of homes:

• Conshohocken, 2.5 percent
• Lower Gwynedd, 6.3 percent
• Lower Moreland, 1.9 percent
• Montgomery, 1.2 percent
• Plymouth, 3.1 percent
• Schwenksville, 31.7 percent
• Skippack, 2.4 percent
• Towamencin, 1.1 percent

Meanwhile, the greatest increases were in Jenkintown (41.3 percent), Salford (27.8 percent), Bridgeport (12.9 percent), West Norriton (11.6), and Upper Merion (10.6). It was the second straight year of notable increase for Bridgeport (1.2 percent in 2017) and neighboring Upper Merion (4.3 percent) .

As a whole, the county has also become less affordable for renters. Median rent has gone up from $1,057 in 2010 to $1,211 in 2017.

All housing types increased in median price sold in 2018: single-family detached rose by 3.7 percent, attached rose by 3.1 percent, and multifamily rose by 3.2 percent. Single family detached has seen the sharpest rise over the last five years, from just over $300,000 to just under $350,000.

According to officials, perhaps the best sign for the housing market is the reduction in average number of days a home sits on the market. That number has dropped by seven since 2017, while average listings per month has dropped by just under 500 over the same time period.

For the full report from the Planning Commission, see here.

For the full listing at 508 Pennlyn Pike in Lower Gwynedd, see Realtor.com.