The number of homes worth $1 million or more in and around Philadelphia has almost quadrupled over the last five years, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported today.

According to their coverage, the Philadelphia metropolitan area had roughly 30,300 homes that were valued at $1 million or more as of July, a 288% increase since July 2020.

Their analysis attributes “strong homebuyer demand, a shortage of homes for sale, rising construction costs, and rapid home appreciation” to explain the surge. Rising construction costs and elevated mortgage interest rates are factors as well, and a survey through the National Association of Home Builders found that the average cost of materials has increased 42% since just before the pandemic.

“Years ago, $3 million in Bucks or Montgomery County, and you were living on a giant estate in a 8,500-square-foot house,” Andrew Kaye, a past president of both the Pennsylvania Builders Association and the Home Builders Association of Bucks & Montgomery Counties, told The Inquirer. “That’s not the case anymore. Now you’re living on, you know, a half an acre with a 3,800-square-foot house. It’s crazy.”

A Zillow.com search of greater Glenside’s market shows dozens of $1 million-plus current listings, including an existing Wyndmoor home going for $1,580,000, a new construction in Wyndmoor listed at $1,195,000, a $2,900,000 property in Abington, a $1,636,000 property in Jenkintown, a $2,250,000 property in Huntingdon Valley (Lower Moreland Township), and a $1,289,900 property in Wyncote (Cheltenham Township).

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