Analytics built by: Location, Inc.
Raw data sources: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Methodology: NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data
With 33,449 people, 12,471 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $130,404, house prices in Chester are some of the most affordable in Pennsylvania as well as the nation.
Row houses and other attached homes are the single most common housing type in Chester, accounting for 65.22% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Chester include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 15.25%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 11.05%), and a few single-family detached homes ( 8.48%). Cities with mostly row houses, apartments, and other high density housing types are relatively uncommon, and characteristic of compact cities that frequently have a downtown or other neighborhoods where amenities are within walking distance and a lot of street life can be seen.
Renters dominate Chester's housing market, and most live in three of four bedroom dwellings, chiefly found in row houses and other attached homes.
At the end of World War II, American soldiers returned home triumphant and, with the help of the GI Bill, built homes by the millions on the edges of America's cities. These homes were predominantly capes and ranches, modest in size, but built to house a growing middle-class as the 20th century became the American century. Chester's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 41.76% of the city's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Chester include homes built before 1939 ( 37.33%) and housing constructed between 1970-1999 ( 15.83%). There's also some housing in Chester built between 2000 and later ( 5.09%).
Vacant housing appears to be an issue in Chester. Fully 14.25% of the housing stock is classified as vacant. Left unchecked, vacant Chester homes and apartments can be a drag on the real estate market, holding Chester real estate prices below levels they could achieve if vacant housing was absorbed into the market and became occupied. Housing vacancy rates are a useful measure to consider, along with other things, if you are a home buyer or a real estate investor.
In the last 10 years, Chester has experienced some of the highest home appreciation rates of any community in the nation. Chester real estate appreciated 119.89% over the last ten years, which is an average annual home appreciation rate of 8.20%, putting Chester in the top 20% nationally for real estate appreciation. If you are a home buyer or real estate investor, Chester definitely has a track record of being one of the best long term real estate investments in America through the last ten years.
NeighborhoodScout's data show that during the latest twelve months, Chester's appreciation rate, at 7.55%, has been at or slightly above the national average. In the latest quarter, Chester's appreciation rate has been 1.44%, which annualizes to a rate of 5.90%.
Relative to Pennsylvania, our data show that Chester's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 60% of the other cities and towns in Pennsylvania.
One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Chester differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Chester - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 2000, to assist you in making the best Chester real estate investment or home purchase decisions.
$130,404
for Pennsylvania
for nation
12,471
$1,720 / per month