Many young millennials on the Main Line are faced with a double burden of expensive real estate and hard-to-find childcare, writes Caroline O’Halloran at SAVVY/Main Line.

For starters, the average price of a home on the Main Line is almost $1 million. That is almost 40% more than the average sale price last year.

Both a lack of homes on the market and a short supply of new construction is driving prices up.

“I don’t believe consumers trust our economy right now. It’s very volatile,” said Lynise Caruso, an agent with Keller Williams Main Line in Ardmore.

“I’ve been a realtor for 23 years and it’s one of the weirdest markets I’ve seen.”

With the skyrocketing price of homes, more families need to have both parents working to pay for it. And it is almost always full-time.

The problem is that space at childcare centers is also at a premium.

Many schools have long waitlists and require nonrefundable fees to hold a spot.

“We’re at capacity until the summer of 2024,” Angela Bruno, owner of Kids Clubhouse on the Main Line in Radnor.

The waitlist for the infant room at Wonderspring Early Education in Narberth is so long, infants are aging out and moved to the toddler room waitlist, Natalie Renn, the director there, said.

Read more about the double crisis at SAVVY/Main Line.

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