This photo shows the grounds and pool at a home in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, that was sold in June by the Susan Fitzgerald Team at Compass Real Estate for $2.25 million.The roughly 3,000-square-foot house in Berwyn with a large yard and within walking distance of schools, parks, and transit was listed for sale at $925,000. Then came a bidding war.
Overall, home sales in the Philadelphia area were down about 2% this spring compared to the same time last year. But over the same period, the number of luxury sales, although a much smaller segment of the market, rose by almost 20%, according toBright MLS defined luxury homes as those in the top 5% of the market. The price of that threshold varies widely depending on whether analyses happen on the regional, metropolitan, town, or neighborhood level.
In the Washington metro area, homes had to cost at least $1.6 million to classify as luxury — a threshold that was 77% higher than in the Philadelphia and Baltimore metros. But in the counties just west of the Philadelphia region, a home price of at least $579,000 was enough to classify as the top 5% of the market.
“We in the Philadelphia area are very lucky to have an extraordinarily diversified economic base, plus terrific schools, terrific health care, etcetera,” said Fitzgerald of the Susan Fitzgerald Team. “All contribute to a very stable and robust luxury market.” Fitzgerald, whose team is based in Wayne and primarily works in Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties, said this spring and early summer have been “very, very busy” in the luxury-home market.Not every home sale is represented in Bright MLS’s data, which the service estimates covers 90% of sales overall. Some luxury-home sales, especially in the higher price tiers, are not publicly listed and require buyers to work with real estate professionals who can see these exclusive listings.