Lancaster County Real Estate Market is CRAZY right now! (Philadelphia: rental market, mortgage)

[KevinE]

Search the county on Realtor.com -> sort by newest. Properties are going PENDING or CONTINGENT within hours of listing. I mean every single property even in a dump like Columbia is getting scooped up.

[Marv95]

Philly area refugees probably.

Seriously tho, what populated RE market around here isn't crazy?

[E-Z-B]

That’s a far commute to Philly though if you don’t find a local job around Lancaster.

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by E-Z-B

That’s a far commute to Philly though if you don’t find a local job around Lancaster.

The market is crazy in the Poconos with NYC refugees and it's about the same distance.

A work colleague just put her house on the market 10 days ago and already has an offer from NY. Even after they've seen the "driveway from hell", clocked the distance from the city, checked cell phone reception, distance to the grocery store, verified that when NY gets rain the Poconos get snow (you have to drive up "Snow Hill Road" to get to her development), etc.

Lots of people realize they can work from home. Some are so traumatized by what's going on in the large cities that they just want to start a new life anywhere else.

[SteelCityRising]

A lot of people who can "Zoom" all day for a living are considering relocating out of expensive crowded urbanized areas to the exurban periphery or to smaller towns or cities. I truly believe what you're seeing in Lancaster County (and probably York County as well) are people moving out of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC because they can get more bang for their buck in South Central PA, and if they can telework 100% of the time or almost 100% of the time, then the lengthy commutes back into the city become a non-issue.

I personally prefer urban living, but it's the WORST place to live during a pandemic because you end up surrounded by a bunch of potential disease-spreaders, many of whom are unmasked. If my ex's family didn't live in Lancaster County I'd consider moving there in a heartbeat. It's such a wonderful place with a great quality-of-life. I'd like still settle in an "urban" place like Lancaster City or Columbia or Lititz, but I would be a happy camper for sure.

[Ohiogirl81]

Lancaster is really only an hour or less from suburban commercial concentrations in Exton, Malvern or King of PrussiaExton. If you don't mind the drive, or are driving only a day or two a week, the commute is doable; or, Amtrak goes into Center City.

[Tulippsy]

The rental market is also crazy. I moved back to Southeastern Pennsylvania in June and was shocked at the rental prices. Anything under $1200 that I looked at was a dump. As a senior on Social Security, I’m spending a huge percentage of my income on housing. I know nothing stays the same, but the increase in population really surprised me.

[bridge12]

Yeah, not sure I'm seeing people "fleeing Philadelphia" right now. We have the lowest housing inventory in 25 years and housing are flying off the shelves. Houses that sold for 250k a few years ago are going for 450k on some of the same South Philly blocks. It's crazy out here. I was briefly looking at some houses and in the Mt Airy section and one of them had 10 offers in 48 hours, including people from SF and NYC.

I hate to say that the pandemic is "good" for anything but I think Pennsylvania's population does get a slight uptick being that it's so affordable and even our cities offer more space than larger ones.

[Icy Tea]

A couple of thoughts. The Poconos are indeed the snowiest part of pa other than maybe the snow best right around lake Erie. Its the elevation and closer proximity to the ocean and coastal nor'easters. NYC is imploding and I guess NY is likewise getting run into the ground tax wise. If they don't stop the pandemic restrictions nonsense and then lower taxes, The Big Apple is going to be a road apple. NJ is going to take a hit, too. Job loss in top income areas may not be a big( but bad enough) problem, but quality of life will spiral down as restaurants and small businesses close and working class people give up and move away.
Pa is seeing great housing numbers pretty much across the board. I think maybe retirees are sitting well fixed, maybe others cashed in and sold stocks for big gains and put it into what they feel is a safe place, housing and real estate.
Back when this whole Covid thing started( April and May) and Philly and Montgomery County started showing increasing numbers, the residents hopped on 422 and the turnpike and headed west to buy groceries and to stockpile for what they thought would be a month long lockdown. And they spread that virus faster to the counties they drove to. And many spread it from NY and NJ to places like Allentown and Reading. Food for thought.

[golgi1]

Its working at home, but also lots of boomer retirements both naturally and early due to the pandemic. The riots didn't help the attractiveness of cities either.

Some people will eventually move back to cities out of desire. Some people will be forced to return to the urban office. Some people will lose their work at home jobs, as businesses are forced to and naturally become more efficient (ie: realize that many of the work at home positions are not worth the salary) and not be able to maintain the mortgage they are getting into. Many people will transition from houses to reitrement homes within the next twenty years or less.

The housing market is going to snap back. Now is a great time to sell. I don't know if I'd buy anything that has seen significant "appreciation" in the past few years.