Following a national trend, Philly’s median rent and home values both rose by several percentage points in the last year as the number of available homes on the market fell, according to a new study.
The study, published by Zillow this week, examined the costs of renting and buying a home in major cities across the country. The median rent in Philly in June was $1,614, up 3 percent from a year ago, Zillow said. Home values in the city rose by 2.4 percent, with the median home value in Philly currently at $233,000.
While home prices have increased over the past year, the number of available homes on the market has decreased by 2,791—or 9.8 percent—since a year ago, the study said.
Philly isn’t an outlier when it comes to rising housing costs. Median rents across the country increased by 3 percent over the last year to $1,483, and home values increased by 5.2 percent.
“As much as record numbers of new apartments led many to believe that rental markets might have become over saturated with new supply, the reality is that demographics and general economic health continue to keep the pressure on,” Skylar Olsen, Zillow’s director of economic research said in a statement on the study.
Meanwhile, the number of available homes on the market fell (albeit not as dramatically as in Philadelphia) by .8 percent. The decreasing number of homes on the market across the country has been a persistent problem over the past four months, according to the report, and Zillow anticipates it will continue.
They attribute the problem to several things including builders struggling with, “scarce land, expensive labor and volatile materials costs,” that led to a downturn in new construction. They also suggest surge in renting single-family homes might be to blame, especially when it comes to investors buying and keeping homes as rental properties.
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