The housing stock in the region and Montgomery County is continuing to reach record-low levels, causing prices to skyrocket and reach heights that far outweigh the income of potential homebuyers, writes Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

According to Kevin Gillen, a senior research fellow at Drexel’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation, the inventory trends are “reaching implausible levels.”

In Montgomery County, inventory has been getting lower nearly every year in the past decade. In 2013, the county had 5.8 months of home supply. In 2014 the number fell to 4.7 but rose to 5.2 in 2015.

The following years all recorded a drop: to 4.3 in 2016, 3.4 in 2017, 2.7 in 2018, 2.5 in 2019, 1.8 in 2020, and 0.8 in 2021. Currently, the housing supply is at 0.5 months. This means that supply would last for half a month if no new buildings were constructed.

Meanwhile, home prices have been steadily going up.

The median sales price of homes in Montgomery County was $230,000 in 2013 and remained in the low to mid $200,000s for the next several years. 

However, the price jumped to $315,000 in 2020, $330,000 in 2021, and finally to $351,500 this year.

Read more about Montgomery County housing trends in the Philadelphia Business Journal.