Reading appreciation rates and housing market information

Reading housing market information

With 81,201 people, 34,309 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $88,540, house prices in Reading are some of the most affordable in Pennsylvania as well as the nation.

row houses and other attached homes are the single most common housing type in Reading, accounting for 50.26% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Reading include duplexes, homes converted to apartments, or other small apartment buildings (22.47%), large apartment complexes or high rise apartments (15.52%), and a few single-family detached homes (11.50%). Cities that are predominantly high-density buildings are relatively uncommon in the US. Because of the density, these types of cities are often walkable and compact, and often have a lively downtown.

People in Reading primarily live in small (one, two, or no bedroom) row houses and other attached homes. Reading has a mixture of owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing.

The housing in Reading was primarily built before 1939 (59.37%), making the housing stock in Reading some of the older overall in America, although there is a range of ages of homes in Reading. The next most important Reading housing age is 1940-1969 (29.53%), followed by 1970-1994 (10.46%). There's also some housing in Reading built between 1995 and later (.64%).

Vacant housing appears to be an issue in Reading. Fully 12.24% of the housing stock is classified as vacant. Left unchecked, vacant Reading homes and apartments can be a drag on the real estate market, holding Reading 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.

Reading home appreciation rates

Real estate appreciation rates in Reading have tracked to near the national average over the last ten years, with the annual appreciation rate averaging 7.77% during the period.

Over the last year, Reading appreciation rates have trailed the rest of the nation. In the last twelve months, Reading's appreciation rate has been -0.54%, which is lower than appreciation rates in most communities in America. In the latest quarter, NeighborhoodScout's data show that house appreciation rates in Reading were at 1.33%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 5.32%.

Relative to Pennsylvania, our data show that Reading's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 27% 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 city. Individual neighborhoods within Reading differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Reading - 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 1990, to assist you in making the best Reading real estate investment or home purchase decisions.