Areas of the Philadelphia region real estate market saw rising home sales and median sale prices in July, according to the Long & Foster Market Minute reports. The Philadelphia region includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.

In Chester County, the number of homes sold rose by 7 percent in July, while both Bucks and Delaware counties saw a 5 percent increase in home sales. Median sale prices rose in a few areas as well. Bucks County saw a 9 percent increase in median sale price, Philadelphia County saw an 8 percent increase, and Chester County saw a 2 percent increase.

Active inventory levels fell by double digits throughout the Philadelphia region in July. Montgomery County experienced the smallest decline at 16 percent, while Delaware County experienced the largest decline at 27 percent. Homes continue to sell swiftly in the region, with days on market averages ranging from 36 days to 43 days.

Looking at the data, a number of regions in Long & Foster’s market performed better in July than in the previous spring months.

“This year’s spring market happened at different times in different regions – July was spring for some of them,” said Gary Scott, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. “It’s likely that the springtime transactions that were not happening were simply delayed, not lost.”

It’s because of these differences from one location to another that it’s important to make sure consumers aren’t taking any singular statement and applying it to any one market, Scott said.

“The media makes very general statements – ‘Prices are Appreciating’ – which feels good if I’m a seller,” Scott said. “But if the media is looking at averages, many people still fall outside of the average. Your real estate professional can help you disarm and interpret the media on a local scale.”

“Sellers in particular have to be very careful about using listing prices as comparables when putting their house on the market,” Scott said. “It’s really important to look at the sales in your area as opposed to listing prices, because listing process are more irrelevant today than they’ve been in a long time.”

The Long & Foster Market Minute is an overview of market statistics based on residential real estate transactions for more than 500 local areas and neighborhoods and over 100 counties in eight states. The easy-to-read, easy-to-share reports include information about each area’s units sold, active inventory, median sale prices, list to sold price ratio, days on market and more.

Information included in this report is based on data supplied by TREND multiple listing service and its member associations of Realtors, which are not responsible for its accuracy. The reports include residential real estate transactions within specific geographic regions, not just Long & Foster sales, and they do not reflect all activity in the marketplace. Information contained in this report is deemed reliable but not guaranteed, should be independently verified, and does not constitute an opinion of TREND or Long & Foster Real Estate.