Chester County home sales take a dip

Numbers off compared to a year ago, according to report that also found prices were up in Philadelphia region

Home sales in Chester County saw declines in February in both the numbers sold and their selling prices.

Home sales in Chester County saw declines in February in both the numbers sold and their selling prices, a report released Friday found.

The number of houses sold in the county slid 6 percent compared to February 2016 while the median sales price fell 1 percent, according to the Long & Foster Market Minute survey.

The news was a bit better for other counties in the survey – Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks and Delaware, most of which experienced an increase in prices. When compared to last February, Delaware County experienced a 15 percent increase. In Philadelphia County, the median sale price increased by 14 percent, followed by Bucks County with an 8 percent increase and Montgomery County with a 2 percent increase.

The number of homes sold fell throughout the region, however. In addition to Chester County’s 6 percent decrease, both Philadelphia and Delaware counties experienced a 2 percent decrease. In Bucks County, the number of homes sold fell by 8 percent, while Montgomery County experienced a 15 percent decrease, Long & Foster found.

The number of houses available for sale might have had something to do with the decline in sales numbers.

Levels of active inventory decreased throughout the region in February. Philadelphia County experienced a 29 percent decline, while active inventory fell by 26 percent in Delaware County.

In Bucks County, inventory decreased by 24 percent, and in Montgomery County it decreased by 20 percent. Chester County experienced an 18 percent decline in active inventory, the survey found.

Ron Clarke, senior vice president for Long & Foster Real Estate overseeing

Pennsylvania and Delaware, said the data for February actually reflect sales that closed in February.

The real estate company tracks pending sales, and those show that 25 percent of the properties that were for sale in Chester County in February sold.

That compares to 8 percent that sold in February 10 years ago. Inventory levels, he said, were down by 40 percent from last February, creating the dip in sales.

Last year, Chester County had an average of 2,550 houses on the market in any given month; in February the inventory was 2,002.

Priced right, “it’s the best

time in 10 years” to sell a home due to the reduced inventory, Clarke said.

According to February data, the days on market, or DOM, average was 64 days in Philadelphia County and 67 days in Chester County. The DOM average in both Bucks and Montgomery counties was 78 days and in Delaware County the DOM average was 86 days.

The report for the region was “very solid,” Clarke said. “We as a company had a very robust January and February.”

To contact Business Editor Brian McCullough, call 610-235-2655 or send an email to bmccullough@ dailylocal.com.

This chart shows the greater Philadelphia housing data by county as of February, 2017.