WEST CHESTER, PA — Chester County home prices rose 3.5% from a year earlier in July, slightly ahead of the 3.4% national increase reported by Redfin, while tight inventory and rapid sales kept the local market more competitive than many parts of the country despite a midsummer pullback in prices.
The county’s median sold price was $595,000 in July, down 4.8% from $625,000 in June but up from $575,000 a year earlier.
That monthly decline contrasts with Redfin’s national Home Price Index, which showed U.S. prices rising 0.27% from June on a seasonally adjusted basis. The measures are not directly comparable: Chester County’s figure is a median transaction price, while Redfin uses a repeat-sales index designed to track changes in the value of the same homes over time.
Even so, the year-over-year figures point to a similar broader pattern. Chester County’s 3.5% annual gain narrowly exceeded Redfin’s 3.4% national increase, the fastest U.S. annual growth rate in a year.
The county’s average sold price was $600,000 in July, down 4.8% from June but 2% above July 2025. Active listings carried a median asking price of about $624,995, roughly 4.2% higher than a year earlier.
Inventory remained constrained enough to preserve seller leverage. Chester County recorded 617 closed sales in July, down 7.5% from 667 in June and virtually unchanged from 616 a year earlier.
Homes sold for an average 103% of list price, matching June and edging above the 102% ratio recorded a year earlier. Competitive properties went under contract in a median of six days.
That stands in contrast to some U.S. markets where rising supply has shifted negotiating power toward buyers. Redfin reported price declines in 20 of the 49 large metropolitan areas it analyzed, led by neighboring Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, where prices fell 1.1% month over month.
Fort Worth, Texas, followed with a 0.8% drop, while Austin, Miami and Virginia Beach each declined 0.6%.
“Despite the sluggishness of the overall housing market, home-price growth is proving to be surprisingly resilient,” Redfin Head of Economics Research Chen Zhao stated.
Zhao attributed that resilience partly to a divided market in which affordability-constrained buyers are pulling back while wealthier households continue competing for high-end homes.
That split is also visible within Chester County.
Exton posted a median sold price of about $830,000, up 11.8% from a year earlier, making it one of the county’s strongest-performing submarkets. Demand for move-in-ready homes along the Route 30 and Route 100 corridors contributed to the gain.
Kennett Square Borough and Kennett Township recorded values around $569,000, up 6.4% year over year.
The greater West Chester area, including East Bradford, West Goshen and Westtown townships, recorded median values between roughly $640,000 and $661,000, while price per square foot increased about 4.2%.
Farther east, Tredyffrin and Easttown remained among the county’s most expensive markets, with median sale prices above $900,000 and annual growth of roughly 5.5% to 6%.
Phoenixville Borough and Schuylkill Township posted annual price growth of about 5%, supported by demand for homes near downtown amenities.
More affordable western and southern Chester County communities posted slower appreciation. Coatesville, Valley Township and Sadsbury Township recorded annual gains of about 2.5% to 3.5%, with median sold prices ranging from roughly $285,000 to $385,000.
The Oxford and West Grove corridors posted annual appreciation of about 3% to 4%.
Nationally, the strongest price gains were concentrated in wealthier markets. San Francisco led Redfin’s monthly ranking with a 1.5% increase and was also first on a year-over-year basis with a 13.3% gain.
Oakland rose 1.3% month over month, while Pittsburgh and New York each gained 1%. Redfin linked the Bay Area strength partly to wealth generated by the artificial intelligence sector.
At the other end of the spectrum, Texas markets recorded some of the steepest annual declines. San Antonio fell 2.1%, followed by Fort Worth at 1.3%, Dallas and Austin at 1% each, and Phoenix at 0.9%.
Redfin attributed those declines to a supply-demand imbalance in which sellers substantially outnumber buyers.
Chester County has not shifted nearly as far toward buyers. The combination of above-list sales, six-day median market times and flat year-over-year transaction volume indicates continued competition for desirable properties even as prices cooled from June.
The July data suggest the county is participating in the same broader national trend of slower but still-positive appreciation, while local inventory constraints continue to give sellers more pricing power than in many major U.S. markets.
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