Home Sales Soar in 55+ Communities in Greater Philadelphia

So you’ve heard that it is a good time to start your retirement, sell your home and move to a 55+ Community? According to this Wall Street Journal article, home sales are through the roof. No pun intended. The referenced article states that average home prices rose 7% in the year that ended in September 2020. Does the same hold true for homes in 55+ Communities in greater Philadelphia? Let’s find out.

Pending and Closed sales in 55+ Communities are way up, year over year.

The number of homes that went under agreement, also known as pending, and the number of homes that sold, also known as closed, dramatically increased in the last twelve months. Stated differently, a lot more homes sold this year than last year. 14.84% more homes closed in November 2020 than in November 2019. Additionally, 77% more homes pended (went under agreement) in November 2020 than in November 2019. The chart below provides these and other statistics.

Many reasons can be attributed to these circumstances. And the reasons are generally similar to reasons why the larger housing market is doing well: (1) interest rates are low; (2) the pandemic caused people to think differently about their existing homes and (3) with saving rates increased, folks have more money to spend on their down payment.

>> Related: 3rd Quarter 2020: Existing Homes Sales Greater Philadelphia 55+ Communities

Strong Seller’s Market for 55+ Communities

Whether or not a real estate market is a seller’s market or a buyer’s market is measured by how long it takes to sell the active inventory in a given market. For S3Living’s purposes the market consists of the homes in 55+ Communities in greater Philadelphia. As of this writing, 470 homes are available for sale in 55+ communities in greater Philadelphia. At the current monthly pace of sales (294 closed 55+ homes in November 2020) it would only take 1.6 months to sell them all.

1.6 months of supply is a low supply of homes resulting in a strong seller’s market. A balanced market is about 6 months of supply and a buyer’s market is 8 or more months of supply. When supply is down, prices go up. Year over year median sale price indicate exactly that: higher prices. Again, see the chart below.

The Rest of the Monthly Statistics for 55+ Communities in Greater Philadelphia

Below is the November 2020 market statistics for 55+ Communities in greater Philadelphia, as well as the October 2020 and November 2019 statistics for the same market. All of these statics are sourced from the data available to real estate agents via Bright MLS.

Date	Median Sale Price	Median DOM	# of Closed Sales	# of Pending Sales	# of New Listings
November 2020	$315,017	15	294	278	267
October 2020	$302,890	25	303	374	379
November 2019	$286,450	24	256	157	227

Reach out to us here to request the specific data that interests you.

Reach Out for Help

One of the best ways to make decisions about senior living is simply to reach out to those who can provide you with information and options. You want the ideas and support that come from their experience. At S3Living, we can provide that to you through a range of solutions. We offer services such as:

S3Living Can Support You in Your Move to Retirement

Retirement and selling your home can be complex decisions with so much riding on them. That is why it helps to have someone by your side to work through the process with you. At S3Living, our team is here to support you through a range of services designed to give you insight into all of your options for senior living. Give us a call at 833.405.0263 to learn more.