The housing market covering West Chester earned a C grade in Realtor.com's first national affordability and homebuilding report card, released Sept. 16.
The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro ranked 59th out of 100 major markets, scoring 50.3 out of a possible 100, according to MyChesCo. The metro area spans parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland and includes Chester County.
Realtor.com graded each market on two equally weighted factors: whether homes are affordable for local earners and whether enough new homes are being built to meet future demand. The report draws on 2025 listing, income, permit and population data.
On affordability, the Philadelphia metro fared relatively well. Its median listing price was $372,350 against a median household income of $88,483, producing a Realtor.com Affordability Score of 0.794.
Construction told a different story.
The metro's permit-to-population ratio was 0.46, meaning builders pulled fewer than half the permits that would match the region's share of national construction activity. That ratio accounts for 80% of the homebuilding score. Newly built homes also carried an 84.5% price premium over existing homes, a gap that limits how much new supply helps entry-level buyers.
Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, told Fox Business that the construction shortfall is a national problem with local roots. "Builders are getting squeezed on both sides," Berner said. "Their costs are going up, whether it's materials, labor or the cost of regulation. … And on the demand side, they're seeing depressed buyer activity because of high mortgage rates and low buyer affordability."
Berner said the highest-graded metros share regulatory flexibility, streamlined permitting and strong job growth that lets builders keep pace with rising demand.
The report lands as the broader Philadelphia-area market shows signs of cooling. Danielle Hale, Realtor.com's chief economist, said in a Sept. 8 report on August housing data that the market was "entering its seasonal cool-down with less momentum than it had earlier this year," citing higher mortgage rates and more selective buyers.
Nationally, Southern and Midwestern metros generally outperformed the Northeast and West. Des Moines, Iowa, topped the list with an A+ and a score of 83.4. Los Angeles finished last at 12.0.
Among Pennsylvania metros, Pittsburgh scored highest at 33rd with a C+. Harrisburg-Carlisle placed 66th, Scranton-Wilkes-Barre 68th and Allentown-Bethlehem 76th with a D+.
Realtor.com said the country faces a housing supply gap of more than 4 million homes.
