The Philadelphia-area housing market continues to be stuck in an inventory rut, which has helped drive the growth of home prices to its highest level in almost two years, writes Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The median home price throughout the Philadelphia region went up by 10.4 percent to $340,000 in February, the fastest price growth since May 2022.

This includes a 6.4 percent jump to $250,000 within Philadelphia County, which is an outlier from the minimal or negative price growth recorded in the city throughout most of the past year.

According to Bright MLS chief economist Lisa Sturtevant, the entire market is an outlier.

“The Philadelphia market looks very different than other parts of the mid-Atlantic, and frankly, other parts of the country,” she said. “Washington, D.C., Baltimore, they all saw big jumps in inventory in February. Here in the Philadelphia market, it is still pretty tight.”

Inventory in the Philadelphia area went up by 0.3 percent to 8,803 in February, compared to Washington, D.C. region’s 20.4 percent increase.

Montgomery County is one of the rare local areas that saw substantial inventory growth (9 percent).

Read more about home prices in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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