Home Prices Have More Than Doubled in This Pennsylvania City Since the Pandemic

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24/7 Wall St. Insights

• Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply and demand dynamics have sent home prices surging by about 38% in Pennsylvania.
• But location matters in the U.S. housing market, and in some parts of Pennsylvania, list price increases have been far more modest than in others.
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The COVID-19 pandemic was a public health crisis of a scale and magnitude unlike any other in modern American history. Even though more than a year has passed since the end of the COVID-19 national emergency, the U.S. is still grappling with many of the pandemic's economic knock-on effects -- most notably, a surge in housing costs. According to data from Realtor.com , the median list price among all homes on the market in the U.S. was $439,950 in July 2024, up nearly $121,000 from the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

Due to pandemic-related work restrictions, in addition to supply chain issues, new-home construction has not kept pace with demand in recent years, exacerbating an already decades-old housing shortage. According to estimates from The Pew Charitable Trusts , closing the gap would require between 4 to 7 million new homes. Now, with mortgage rates at historic highs, many homeowners who are locked in at lower rates are reluctant to sell, further limiting housing inventory.

The surge in home prices has been driven not only by supply constraints, but also rising demand. The shift to remote work, in addition to social distancing rules, confined millions of Americans to their homes during the pandemic -- and resulted in a spike in home sales. In October 2020, the sales volume of new, single-family homes topped 1.03 million, a high not seen in nearly a decade and a half.

Few parts of the country have been spared from rising home prices. In Pennsylvania, the median list price among all homes on the market was $325,000 in July 2024, up 38.4% -- or $90,100 -- from the start of the pandemic. (Here is a look at the most affordable housing market in each state .)

Notably, when it comes to the housing costs, location matters -- and in some parts of Pennsylvania, housing prices have climbed much faster than average. In others, meanwhile, increases have been far more modest. Of the 28 metropolitan and combined statistical areas in the state with available data, median list prices have increased anywhere from 16.3% to 125.6% since the start of the pandemic. In these same communities, a typical home now costs anywhere from $35,050 to $155,000 more than it did in March 2020. (Here is a look at the 23 cities where most homes are selling for less than $125,000 ).

It is important to note that the cities reporting the most significant increases in home prices are not necessarily the most expensive cities in which to buy a home. For example, there are three Pennsylvania metro areas where most homes were listed for over $400,000 in July 2024, and none of them rank among the 10 cities on this list with the largest price increases.

This is how home prices have changed since the pandemic in every city in Pennsylvania. Cities are ranked by the percent change in the media list prices from March 2020 to July 2024.

Why It Matters

Since the start of the pandemic, limited supply and rising demand have fueled a surge in home prices. Now, with mortgage rates at their highest levels in over a decade, many would-be sellers are staying out of the market, further exacerbating a long-standing inventory shortage. Historically, homeownership has been a reliable means of building wealth -- but rising prices and elevated borrowing costs have priced millions of Americans out of the market. Still, location matters in the real estate business, and some parts of Pennsylvania have borne the brunt of rising prices, while others have been largely shielded.

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