Residential Housing Report

Summary

Each year, the Chester County Planning Commission analyzes housing data available from the Chester County Assessment Department to understand the features of housing units added to the county annually, as well as long-term trends. This information provides valuable insight to guide planning decisions and to implement the Live Goal of the Landscapes3 Comprehensive Plan.

This report presents data at both the county and municipal level. The sales price of owner-occupied housing units is reported in terms of the median value, which is the middle figure of all sales. The average price is not used, because an extremely high or low price for but a few sales can misrepresent true housing value. The costs of renting renter-occupied units are not included in this report. However, the number of newly built rental units is addressed.

This report includes an evaluation of all sales, including existing units and those that were newly built and sold for the first time. It also addresses the different types of units which have been sold, such as single family attached, single family detached, twins, and townhouses.

Figure 1 — All Housing Unit Sales for Chester County (Number and Median Price) 1990-2025

As Figure 1 shows, the number of sales in 2025 was similar to the past few years, but somewhat less than for most of the past 15 years. The late 1990s and early 2000s was the most active period of development. In terms of median sales price, there has been a steady increase since the Great Recession. The countywide median price, adjusted for inflation, rose $148,986 (or 28.8%) since 2010.

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.