The Price Point compares homes listed for similar sale prices across the region to help readers set expectations about house hunting.
Looking for a new home for the new year? You’ve got options if you have the region’s typical homebuying budget.
Across the Philadelphia metropolitan area, homes sold for a median of $390,000 last month, according to the multiple listing service Bright MLS. That typical sale price is up more than 3% from last year.
Here’s what a home shopper could get with a budget like this in three different neighborhoods in the region.
The Haverford Hunt Club condo building in Lower Merion Township has 16 units.Read moreMichael McMahon
The kitchen of the condo for sale.Read moreMichael McMahon
The condo has open living and dining areas.Read moreMichael McMahon
The condo gets lots of natural light and has a private balcony.Read moreMichael McMahon
Wolverton & Co., a Montgomery County-based real estate company, sells and manages a lot of condos in the area of West Montgomery Avenue in the Haverford section of Lower Merion Township.
“I call that stretch the golden mile of Haverford as it relates to condominiums,” said Will Wolverton, owner and broker of record at Wolverton & Co. “It’s a very desirable area.”
There are restaurants and national and local stores, including at the nearby Haverford Square and Suburban Square shopping centers. Condo residents can walk to SEPTA’s Haverford station to catch Regional Rail trains. The Merion Cricket Club offers sports facilities and hosts dinners and galas.
One condo currently for sale in the area is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit at Haverford Hunt Club, a building with 16 units on four floors. Condos there include both one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.
432 W. Montgomery Ave., #402
Lower Merion Township
2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
1,205 square feet | Built in 1976
Lower Merion School District
Estimated taxes: $5,780/year
Condo fee: $498/month
The building is about 45 years old but has been “thoughtfully updated” in both looks and critical infrastructure, such as the elevator and the roof, Wolverton said.
The condo for sale gets a lot of natural light, he said. And it’s on the top floor, so buyers won’t have upstairs neighbors. It also has a private balcony and a reserved space in the property’s parking lot.
The last several serious buyers have been most interested in the neighborhood, Wolverton said.
The open kitchen is “very unique” for the area and includes bar seating, said Zhao, an agent with Legacy Landmark Realty.
The primary bedroom has a private bathroom, which isn’t common in older homes in Northeast Philadelphia, she said. A lot of houses have only one full bathroom, she said. One of the bathrooms features a skylight and pink tiles on the walls.
And the home is “a bigger twin,” she said. It spans 1,868 square feet.
The home has a backyard and a walk-out finished basement, which has a half bathroom. It also has a garage and driveway.