Analytics built by: Location, Inc.
Raw data sources: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Methodology: NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data
With a population of 92,957, 39,419 total housing units (homes and apartments), and a median house value of $117,397, house prices in Erie are some of the most affordable in Pennsylvania as well as the nation.
Single-family detached homes are the single most common housing type in Erie, accounting for 58.90% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Erie include duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 22.42%), large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 14.08%), and a few row houses and other attached homes ( 3.88%).
The most prevalent building size and type in Erie are three and four bedroom dwellings, chiefly found in single-family detached homes. The city has a mixture of owners and renters, with 49.74% owning and 50.26% renting.
At the end of World War II, American soldiers returned home triumphant and, with the help of the GI Bill, built homes by the millions on the edges of America's cities. These homes were predominantly capes and ranches, modest in size, but built to house a growing middle-class as the 20th century became the American century. Erie's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 38.69% of the city's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Erie include homes built before 1939 ( 38.63%) and housing constructed between 1970-1999 ( 19.42%). There's also some housing in Erie built between 2000 and later ( 3.26%).
Erie's appreciation rate notably has been below the national average for the last ten years. The average annual home appreciation rate in Erie during the period has been just 5.62%, which is lower than 70% of US communities.
Appreciation rates are so strong in Erie that despite a nationwide downturn in the housing market, Erie real estate has continued to appreciate in value faster than most communities. Looking at just the latest twelve months, Erie appreciation rates continue to be some of the highest in America, at 9.63%, which is higher than appreciation rates in 76.42% of the cities and towns in the nation. Based on the last twelve months, short-term real estate investors have found good fortune in Erie. Erie appreciation rates in the latest quarter were at 3.18%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 13.34%.
Importantly, NeighborhoodScout’s exclusive research found that Erie's housing market shows one of the <a href="/blog/highest-appreciating-cities">top real estate appreciation rates in the U.S.A.</a> in the latest quarter, which may signal the city’s near-future real estate investment strength.
Relative to Pennsylvania, our data show that Erie's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 50% 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 Erie differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Erie - 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 2000, to assist you in making the best Erie real estate investment or home purchase decisions.
$117,397
for Pennsylvania
for nation
39,419
$1,355 / per month