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 5,959 people, 2,751 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $216,779, house prices in Somerset are solidly below the national average.
Single-family detached homes are the single most common housing type in Somerset, accounting for 52.46% of the borough's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Somerset include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 19.78%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 16.28%), and a few mobile homes or trailers ( 7.46%).
The most prevalent building size and type in Somerset are three and four bedroom dwellings, chiefly found in single-family detached homes. The borough has a mixture of owners and renters, with 53.43% owning and 46.57% renting.
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. Somerset's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 36.34% of the borough's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Somerset include homes built between 1970-1999 ( 29.34%) and housing constructed before 1939 ( 26.34%). There's also some housing in Somerset built between 2000 and later ( 7.99%).
Vacant housing appears to be an issue in Somerset. Fully 14.86% of the housing stock is classified as vacant. Left unchecked, vacant Somerset homes and apartments can be a drag on the real estate market, holding Somerset 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.
Some of the lowest real estate appreciation rates in America over the last ten years have been in Somerset, where house values have increased just 51.15%, which is annualized rate of 4.22%. This rate is lower than the appreciation rate found in 90% of the cities and towns in America.
Appreciation rates are so strong in Somerset that despite a nationwide downturn in the housing market, Somerset real estate has continued to appreciate in value faster than most communities. Looking at just the latest twelve months, Somerset appreciation rates continue to be some of the highest in America, at 10.16%, which is higher than appreciation rates in 88.10% of the cities and towns in the nation. Based on the last twelve months, short-term real estate investors have found good fortune in Somerset. Somerset appreciation rates in the latest quarter were at 2.01%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 8.30%.
Relative to Pennsylvania, our data show that Somerset's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 80% 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 borough. Individual neighborhoods within Somerset differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Somerset - 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 Somerset real estate investment or home purchase decisions.
$216,779
for Pennsylvania
for nation
2,751
$1,056 / per month