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The State of Housing in York County
BY BRENDAN SALYARDS I MANAGER, ECONOMIC INITIATIVES
Beginning in 2023, YCEA partnered with more than two dozen housing stakeholders to better understand the nature of the housing market in our county. The resulting York County Housing Needs and Conditions Assessment revealed the dire state of the market and the dramatic shortfall in the availability of attainable housing in our county.
According to the data available from the Realtors Association of York and Adams Counties (RAYAC), the median days on the market reached an all-time low at just five days in May 2023.
As of February 2024, this statistic has risen to a more comfortable average of 20 days on the market. This demand for housing causes persistent increases in the median sale price for a home. Median sale prices in York County rose by 9% over the 12 months from February 2023 to February 2024, climbing above $261,000.
York County is among only a handful of counties in Pennsylvania that have maintained positive population growth. Our strong local economy, coupled with a lower cost of living has attracted residents from our neighboring counties: particularly Lancaster, Adams, and Cumberland. To a lesser extent, York County is also receiving persistent in-migration from Maryland. Increased demand is only one-half of the equation. Since the Great Recession in 2008, the number of new housing units constructed has been roughly half the number constructed in the decade before the Recession. The factors that have caused this are legion and include rising land and material prices, a decline in the availability of large parcels on which to develop tract housing, restrictions due to zoning ordinances and building codes, and the ongoing need to expand the size of the construction trades workforce.
Together these two trends of increased demand and decreased supply result in the increased prices that are driving a crisis in the housing market. Our work on this issue has led to the creation of the York County Housing Action Agenda, which includes six substantive actions that our community can take to improve access to housing in York County. The agenda includes:
1. Support the efforts of partner organizations to create a permanent day shelter in York City.
2. Collaborate with housing-focused partners to develop a housing stability continuum of care and tenant-landlord vetting process.
3. Invest $1,200,000 from the Whole Home Repairs Program to grow the construction workforce.
4. Support the York County Planning Commission’s efforts to implement a US HUD-funded Pro-Housing Grant, aimed at encouraging zoning and code changes to facilitate housing expansion.
5. Launch a quarterly Housing Developers Roundtable to foster public/private partnerships within and beyond the private development community.
6. Encourage discussions regarding employer-invested housing via Welcoming Workplaces.
