Merion Station Tops on Main Line for 2011 Home Price Increases

With a 24.1 percent increase in the median price of homes sold in the first six months of this year compared to 2010, Merion Station is ranked first on the Main Line, according to new data from Prudential Fox & Roach.

Villanova is second with an uptick of almost 18 percent, followed by Ardmore, up 14.3 percent.

The news is a mixed bag, though. Ardmore, for instance, had the largest decrease, year over year, in the number of home sales, dropping 37 percent from a year ago. Wynnewood is down more than 28 percent in the same category, and saw median prices drop 12.1 percent.

While the Main Line in a long-term view is one of the most stable submarkets of the Philadelphia region, like most places it has been negatively affected by the economic downturn of the past five years. But the numbers are slowly inching back up.

In the nine municipalities Prudential Fox & Roach categorizes as the Main Line in its Home Expert Market Report:

• Median home prices increased 11.5 percent to $375,000 from the first half of 2010 to 2011.
• Home sales decreased 7.5 percent to 1,036 homes sold in the first half of 2011.
• The average number of days a home remained on the market increased from 77 days in the first half of 2010 to 97 days.

Note that in analyzing data on a township by township basis, the numbers can “swing wildly” because one large transaction—or the sell-out of a new construction project—can have a big impact on the small amount of transactions, said Steve Storti, senior vice president of marketing for Prudential Fox and Roach.

Here are the numbers, broken down first by the general Main Line area, and then by township (January through June 2010, compared to the first six months of 2011):

By Main Line Area

Number of Home Sales

Highest (% increase)

Lowest (% decrease)

Villanova (60%)

Ardmore (36.9%)

Bryn Mawr (18.8%)

Wynnewood (28.3%)

Merion Station (14.8%)

Gladwyne (14.3%)

Median Price of Properties Sold

Highest (% increase)

Lowest (% decrease)

Merion Station (24.1%)

Bala Cynwyd (25.2%)

Villanova (17.9%)

Gladwyne (23.9%)

Ardmore (14.3%)

Wynnewood (12.1%)

By Township (or borough)

Number of Home Sales

Highest (% increase)

Lowest (% decrease)

Radnor (46.8%)

Narberth (30.8%)

Malvern (25%)

Willistown (22.7%)

Newtown (6.2%)

Tredyffrin (14.1%)

Median Price of Properties Sold

Highest (% increase)

Lowest (% decrease)

Willistown (11.9%)

Easttown (19.5%)

Haverford (4.6%)

Malvern (16.9%)

Radnor (1.3%)

Lower Merion (3.4%)