Life is moving forward all across the Philly suburbs, but homeowners are struggling to move with it. Despite countywide population growth, abundant new developments like in King of Prussia and successfully redesigned downtowns in Ardmore and Media, the median value of all suburban homes — sold and unsold — is down 19 percent while homes in the city of Philadelphia are up more than 15 percent, according to a Philly.com report by Caitlin McCabe.

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“Suburban homeowners … cannot obtain a sufficiently high price that allows them to also pay off their remaining mortgage balance,” said Drexel University Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation Economist Kevin Gillen in the article.

The fastest-growing suburbs have values on the high side, like $480,000-plus in Narberth, Haverford, Malvern and Devon, while the fastest-declining communities are Sharon Hill, Darby and Upper Darby, where more homeowners owe more on their mortgage than the house is worth.

“It’s causing ripple effects across the market, resulting in fewer properties for sale and bidding wars for those that are, and a growing challenge for first-time buyers and the middle class to find houses they can afford,” the article explained.

Read more about the trends in home values across the Philly suburbs on Philly.com here.

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