Delaware County PA Homes Inventory Update

Unsold housing inventory continues to rise while sales continue their leisurely pace.

Last week the active inventory for homes for sale passed the 4100 level for the second time this summer. This year-to-date, 2083 homes have been sold.

Year:  Homes on the Market | Homes under Contract | Homes Sold
2010:            :3709                                 637                               2721
2011:            :4124                                 658                               2083
Change:       +11%                                 +3%                           -23%

Sales continue to lag this year as we remain well below a more “natural” sales rate. On the inventory side, the 4124 homes on the market represent an 11.1% rise over last year and a 28% rise since the last update in March 2011. The peak level of inventory for 2010 was reached in September of last year at just over 3900 homes.

Positive: From a buyer’s perspective this continues to be an incredible opportunity to move into the market.  If you have good credit, you can still receive excellent rates with the broadest choice of inventory seen in years. From a seller’s side, what you may have “lost” in price on your sale can be more than made up on the buy side for your new property – particularly if you are looking to move up to a larger or more expensive property.

Negative: The key negative continues to be the risk that if the need to sell overcomes the slack buyer demand, prices could easily retreat further. One needs to note that the savings from a slight price decline can easily be lost to higher interest rates should rates begin to climb (a good possibility given present problems in the financial markets/Washington).

Bottom Line: Our local real estate markets continue to be impacted by events and circumstances well out of our control. Short term both the credit markets and property markets should continue to remain unsettled. Long term, this combination of high inventory and low interest rates remains an incredible opportunity that has not been seen for years and may not last long.

David Henke
Long & Foster Real Estate Inc – Devon,PA/Bear, DE
Office: 610-225-7400/Direct: 610-618-0808
www.DelawarePAHomes.com

Thornbury Township Update – Delaware & Chester County PA Homes

Situated just southeast of West Chester and west of Newtown Square PA sit the two adjacent Thornbury Townships – one is located on the western edge of Delaware County and the second is adjacent to it in Chester County.  Thornbury Township was originally organized as one larger unit in 1687 with just six families.  In 1798 as Chester County split from Delaware County, the local landowners had the option to join either county.  This resulted in the unusual split and boundary-line through Thornbury township today.  Now both township buildings are next to each other just off the main campus for the Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.

Originally this area was largely an agricultural community consisting of scattered larger landholdings.  Over the years, the area was slowly subdivided and has lost much of its agricultural activity.  Today, it is a largely suburban community containing a wide range of housing options.  It has also been one of the largest beneficiaries of the tremendous growth in new construction that we witnessed since the turn of the century.

Thornbury Township Delaware County is the larger of the two areas.  It contains the three small villages of Cheyney, Thornton, and Glen Mills.  The real estate market has been very active here recently driven primarily by the continuing growth of new housing in the area.  This building activity has included everything from town-homes through to large single family estates.  Sales activity actually peaked back in 2004 with 109 sales at an average price of $583,000.  Since then activity has dropped fairly consistently with 81 sales in 2005, 61 in 2006, 68 in 2007, 47 in 2008 and 22 year to date in 2009.

Pricing has been more varied as new home communities have impacted the market.  Prices averaged $615,00 in 2005, then $598,000 in 2006, $666,000 in 2007, and $650,000 in 2008.  Year to date in 2009, this has dropped further to an average of $554,000 with only 22 sales.  In addition, there are now 55 additional homes on the market with an average asking price of $751,000 and just 2 pending with an average price of $497,000.  With the large number of active listings and only two under contract, it is difficult to gauge the future market direction.

In Thornbury Township Chester County, the market has followed a bit different path.  Pricing spiked in 2004 as the average price jumped from $393,000 in 2003 to $472,000 in 2004.  Since then it has bounced to $449,000 in 2005, $517,000 in 2006, $548,000 in 2007, and back to $535,000 in 2008.  Activity has remained more stable with 39 sales in 2004, 49 in 2005, 39 in 2006, 41 in 2007, and 45 in 2008.  Interestingly, the economy has slowed the activity quite a bit with only 7 sales year to date but new construction is pushing up the average price to $614,000 so far this year with 5 additional homes pending at an average price of $711,000 and 27 homes currently on the market at an average list price of $723,000.

Both communities remain popular due to their ideal location and wide variety of housing options.  Located just off Route 202, Route 352 / Chester Middletown Rd, and Route 926 /Street Rd, the townships afford quick access to West Chester, Wilmington, the Main Line, and Philadelphia through a wide range of commuting options.  If you are considering a move in the area, these are both great options.

As always, if you have any questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me anytime.

(All statistics are from the TrendMLS System and believed accurate but not guaranteed)