Philadelphia Host to Biggest Surge in Home Prices

Philadelphia, home prices going up

The Philadelphia Eagles would need to deploy the “Tush Push” more than a dozen times for their yardage to match the price increases in area homes this year.

The median sales price in the Philadelphia metro area increased by 13.8 percent year over year for the four weeks ending on May 18, Patch reported. That represented the largest annual price gain among the 50 most populous metros in the country, according to a recent report from Redfin.

The median sales price in Philadelphia for the recorded period was $317,000, according to Redfin. That’s an increase from $276,000 during the same period a year ago.

The City of Brotherly Love finished well ahead of second-place Miami, which saw an annual 10.2 percent increase in the median sales price. The top five was rounded out by Detroit (9.5 percent), Pittsburgh (9.2 percent) and Providence (8.8 percent).

Philadelphia’s gain also easily outpaced the national increase in median sales price, which was a much more muted 1.7 percent. Pending sales across the country, meanwhile, fell 2.2 percent, to the lowest level in a decade, which is how long Redfin has been keeping track.

The rise in prices comes at a good moment for sellers in Philadelphia. The city is approaching the best time of year to sell a home, according to a Zillow analysis of 2024 home sales in the area.

The first half of June proved to be the selling apex in Philadelphia in 2024, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Homes listed for sale in the first two weeks of the month sold for a 2.2 percent premium compared to any other time of year, according to the analysis, a bump worth $8,100 for the area’s median-priced homes.

Anthony Lee, managing partner and real estate agent with Realty ONE Group – Focus in Philadelphia, told the Inquirer that factors such as expiring leases and moves ahead of the next school year help feed into activity this time of the calendar.

— Holden Walter-Warner