What a difference three years have made in Pennsylvania real estate.

The median cost of a home in the state is currently around $270,000, far below the national average, and in 2020 the median home price in the state was just about $200,000. In 2015? It was barely $165,000.

Reed Pirain explains that many factors have led to the thriving real estate market in Pennsylvania since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, its moderate home costs have consistently attracted homebuyers who are moving out of high-cost cities and states, spooked by inflation and the threat of recession.

And increasing interest rates on housing tends to benefit areas with moderately priced housing.

Pennsylvania still has a lot going for it, even as most experts expect 2023 to bring a real estate market cool down.   

The Knock Buyer-Seller Market Index released at the beginning of 2023 found that Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the state’s capital, is the No. 2 best market for home sellers in the entire United States.

The Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area is expected to see a 7.5% rise in home prices compared to 2022 and nearly a 4% rise in home sales. 

And those are just a few of the positives driving the steady housing market in the Keystone State. 

Steel City Reborn

While the word “flourishing” hadn’t been used to describe Pittsburgh in decades, the city’s surprisingly robust housing market has changed that. 

While the majority of cities in the U.S., especially in the northeast, have seen both inventory and prices drop in recent months, inventory has increased in Pittsburgh and homes often sell quickly, averaging around 40 days throughout 2021 and 2022.

Pittsburgh is also bucking a significant national housing market trend. Experts project that the housing market in Pennsylvania’s second-largest city will improve even more in 2023, with home prices estimated to go up by 8.3% through the year.

Several accolades have contributed to Pittsburgh’s sudden attractiveness, including the affordability (particularly attractive for Millennials) and growth in locally available jobs.

Overall, Pittsburgh is frequently ranked in the top 15 cities with growing housing markets for 2023.

Other Popular Pennsylvania Real Estate Markets 

On the opposite end of the state from Pittsburgh, the York-Hanover metro area is frequently overlooked, but it continues to gain popularity for those working in Maryland who find that housing in that state often comes with sticker shock.

Just over the Pennsylvania-Maryland border, York-Hanover is projected to have a 9.6% increase in home prices and an 8.3% rise in home sales in 2023 compared to the previous year 

According to Realadvisor.com, the housing market will also be hot in other metro areas around the state in terms of home sales. Bethlehem tops the list, followed by Allentown, Erie, Adamstown, and Reading.  

Allentown is particularly impressive, with an estimated $205,000 median sales price in 2023, up 6.4% over 2022. The average home in the town spends just 10 days on the market before a sale.

Another great real estate market sign for Pennsylvania is that over 46% of homes end up selling over their listed price.