With local inventory at historically low levels, homebuilders are eyeing Greater Philadelphia's most affluent and land-rich county for new construction homes, which now account for nearly half of the properties currently available in Chester County. In 2023, applications to build 4,366 new single family, apartment and townhome units were filed with the county planning commission — nearly triple the amount in 2022. West Chester, the county seat, was recently named the nation’s most popular market of 2023 by Zillow. The need for new construction homes is in part due to extremely low inventory. Chester County had just 1.09 months of supply as of December, the third lowest of Greater Philadelphia's 10 counties, according to Bright MLS, and a far cry from the four to five months of supply considered normal for the real estate industry. The average sale price of a home in December was $493,750, up 13.5% from a year before and the priciest in the region. Other factors at play include the larger swaths of land, which are attractive to both buyers and builders, and a low population density.
Source: Philadelphia Business Journal; 1/21/2024