Greater Philadelphia remains among the more affordable metropolitan areas in the nation, but skyrocketing prices have rapidly increased the number of million-dollar homes in the region, nearly quadrupling it over the last five years, writes Michaelle Bond for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

As of July, the Philadelphia metropolitan area had about 30,300 homes valued at $1 million or more, according to a recent Zillow analysis. That is a 288 percent increase compared to July 2020.

The price surge results from strong demand, low inventory, rising construction costs and rapid home appreciation.

Overall, home prices in Greater Philadelphia rose around 46 percent from the start of the pandemic to the beginning of this year.

“A perfect cocktail of lower mortgage rates, higher savings, and a growing desire for space drove housing demand to new heights during the pandemic,” said Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow. “Just about every major market experienced price growth far above what they’d become accustomed to, resetting the financial bar for home ownership.”

In the Philadelphia region, luxury home prices increased faster than the overall market, driven by a shortage of luxury homes to meet consistently strong demand.

Read more about the forces reshaping the luxury housing market in Greater Philadelphia and what it means for future homeowners in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

_______