A town to flock to
Upper Moreland still had enough snow to look as pretty as a picture during a recent visit, though warmer weather had done its best to change the view.
One in a continuing series spotlighting real estate markets in the region's communities.
Upper Moreland still had enough snow to look as pretty as a picture during a recent visit, though warmer weather had done its best to change the view.
This Montgomery County community of 24,000-plus has always been a nice place to explore by car, varying your route to destinations on Fitzwatertown or Edge Hill, Easton or Old York Roads.
The 7.5-square-mile township always impresses as a place connected to the rest of the world via the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Willow Grove Interchange and SEPTA's Warminster Line on the Regional Rails. It's also filled with neighborhoods that seem off the beaten path.
Those neighborhoods are filled with houses of all styles, sizes and ages - testimony to Upper Moreland's William Penn-era pedigree and post-World War II-and-beyond development.
That development ended awhile back, says Gary Segal, of Keller Williams Real Estate in Blue Bell.
"Because of where Upper Moreland is, it has been built out, except for some infill," he says, adding that there aren't a lot of townhouses because "there isn't much space available to build them."
What you buy here and what you pay depend on location.
Huntingdon Valley, an area than stretches through Upper Moreland, Lower Moreland and Abington Townships, has the larger and more expensive houses on bigger lots, says Carol McCann, of Re/Max Millennium in Fox Chase.
Willow Grove, which Upper Moreland shares with Abington and Upper Dublin Townships, has smaller, more affordable houses on compact lots, plus numerous apartments, she says. Willow Grove Park Mall is just over the border with Abington, but Upper Moreland has no shortage of shopping - much of it within walking distance of its neighborhoods.
Hatboro, which is surrounded on three sides by Upper Moreland and lends its zip code to many a street in the township, has become a much-sought-after address, with housing in the $200,000 range but not much for sale these days, as well as a flourishing business district with few vacant storefronts.
Overlaps like these cause confusion for buyers - and there are many, McCann says, especially from Philadelphia, looking for particular school districts.
To be clear: If you buy within the limits of Upper Moreland Township, you are in the Upper Moreland School District, no matter what your zip code is.
Upper Moreland shares Hatboro's shortage of houses for sale, Segal says - just 54 properties, ranging from $76,000 to $585,000, according to Diane Williams, an agent with Weichert Realtors' Blue Bell office.
"That is pretty low, just 2.5 months of inventory, considering that in the last 12 months nearly 250 homes were sold," all but a dozen of them single-family detached, Segal says.
Six months of inventory is a sign of a market in equilibrium between buyers and sellers, so Upper Moreland is "clearly a seller's market," he says.
"Those houses priced properly are selling quickly," McCann adds, but it is the market's lower end, not the million-dollar-plus segment, that's doing well.
Houses priced in the $200,000s to $300,000s are selling best, Segal says.
In the last 12 months, he notes, 70 houses between $100,000 and $200,000 sold; 135 sold at prices between $200,000 and $300,000.
There were 25 sales between $300,000 and $400,000, but only six from $400,000 and $500,000, "and just a few above that," Segal says.
Looking at the limited active listings, he says, "Upper Moreland is a very stable community."
Average time on market for properties sold in the last 12 months was 54 days, Williams says, with the average sale price $241,289.
"The turnpike, the train, and decent schools are all attractive to buyers here," largely families with children, Segal says.
Upper Moreland's 18 parks and an almost endless list of recreational offerings are another huge draw for adults and kids.
Census data indicate more people are moving into the township than are moving out.
The ones who are leaving are empty-nesters whose children have grown and no longer need the school district, McCann says.
"Many of them are heading to Center City," she says - it's just 15 miles away.
215-854-2472@alheavens