The pandemic has caused some crazy shifts in the housing market, with the national house value now being $374,900, which is a $50,000 increase from just a year ago.
The Pennsylvania housing market is no exception here, with noticeable changes in its own right.
But, what are those changes exactly? Here are five of the biggest trends currently.
1. State House Value Is Up
The state of Pennsylvania saw just as much of a bump in home value as the rest of the country, with about a 16% increase in house value. The typical home value is about $234,684.
The pandemic certainly helped with increasing people's desires to be away from bigger and more congested cities where a lot of the local businesses were closed. However, one can argue that the affordable mortgage rates (between 3-3.4%) are playing a part in people wanting to buy houses now as well.
2. Pittsburgh Has Peak Affordability
Pittsburgh was no exception to the rise in house value, with a 20% increase itself in how many houses are being listed for. The kicker is, the average is still about $202,000, which is just over half the cost of the national average.
The city's houses are going up, and there are more and more houses being snatched up. With that said, the city is affordable but a longer-term play may be best right now because the change in rent does not match other cities.
Here, the rent only decreased by about 5%, compared to near 30% in cities like San Francisco and New York.
3. Decrease in City Population
A common theme during the pandemic was that the bigger cities were causing people to flock out of them for greener pastures but it has been more of a slow burn for some Pennsylvania cities.
The population is down but only by a very small percentage. In Pittsburgh, the population has dropped by 1% in the last decade.
While that does not sound like much, one can argue the fact that not a ton of new people are moving here has kept this city affordable for now.
4. Number of Homes Available Down
Some of the more popular areas have already been reporting a drop in houses available. Near Philadelphia, the number available went down by almost 50% in just one year.
The fact is, people are buying up Pennsylvania property faster than new sellers are ready to put their homes on the market, and that could be playing into the higher house prices that you are seeing.
5. More Houses Being Built
Naturally, the pandemic put a pause on a lot of business operations, and the building of new houses was no exception. Now, construction crews have been able to get back to work, and they are playing catch-up in order to be able to meet the new demand.
You can say there is still a backlog to fill with the lack of available houses on the market but that is heading towards being adjusted for soon.
Invest in the Pennsylvania Housing Market
These are five of the biggest trends in the Pennsylvania housing market that you need to look out for. With that said, there is still plenty of opportunities to get your hands in the real estate game.
Do you want to buy in? Do you want professional help with property management?
Contact us to find out more today!
