By Ben Hill, Premier Property Sales and Rentals. Last updated October 8, 2026. I refresh this page every quarter, so the numbers here are the newest ones I have.

The short answer: Delco is still a seller-leaning market, but it isn't the spring market anymore. Mortgage rates jumped past 7% in late September, buyers are feeling it in their monthly payment, and the pace that made June the busiest month for signed contracts in a year and a half has cooled off. Prices haven't fallen. Leverage has shifted a little, and if you're buying or selling this fall, that shift is the thing to plan around.

I spent 20 years on the mortgage side of this business before I became an agent, so I watch rates the way most agents watch listings. Here's what I'm seeing.

Mortgage Rates Right Now

Freddie Mac's weekly survey had the 30 year fixed at 7.40% as of October 8, 2026, up from 7.28% the week before and 7.03% the week before that. A year ago it was 6.30%. Back in mid August it was 6.67%, which already felt high at the time.

Here's why that matters more than the headline suggests. On a $400,000 loan, principal and interest at 6.5% runs about $2,528 a month. At 7.4% it's about $2,770. That's roughly $240 a month, before taxes and insurance, for the exact same house. (Those are round-number illustrations, not a loan quote. Your rate depends on your credit, down payment, and loan type.) Multiply that across every buyer in the county and you get fewer people qualifying at the price they wanted, and the ones who do qualify being a lot pickier.

The key here is that rates move the market faster than anything else right now. Every other number on this page is downstream of them.

Delaware County Prices and Pace

The most recent full set of county-wide numbers I've published covers the spring and early summer, and it showed a market that was running hot:

  • Median sold price: $420,000 in June 2026, up from about $350,000 in March and April
  • Days on market: 22 days in June, down from 42 in February
  • Signed contracts: 411 in June, the highest single month in a year and a half (223 in February, 378 in March, 398 in April, 403 in May)
  • Inventory: about 2.5 to 2.9 months of supply this spring, well short of the 4 to 6 months that usually means a balanced market

Since then, rates have climbed more than half a point. I'd expect days on market to keep creeping up from that 22 day low, fewer multiple offer situations, and more price reductions on homes that listed at June's numbers. What I don't expect is prices dropping in any meaningful way. Delco has been short on houses for years, and one rough rate stretch doesn't fix that. Flatter price growth through the end of the year is my read, and that's an estimate, not a prediction you should bank on.

Is It a Buyer's Market or a Seller's Market?

Still a seller's market here, just a softer one. Nationally the picture is very different. Redfin reported that sellers outnumbered buyers by 51.3% in July, close to a record, and most big metros have tipped into buyer's market territory. The Philadelphia suburbs haven't followed. Montgomery County, right next door, was one of only six metros Redfin still counted as a seller's market, and Delco's supply problem looks a lot like Montco's.

So the honest answer is that it depends on the house. A well-priced, move-in ready home in a strong school district still gets attention fast. A home that's overpriced, dated, or on a busy road is sitting longer than it would have in May, and buyers know it.

How It Breaks Down Across the County

Delco is 49 municipalities, and they don't move together. The towns that led all spring and summer were Media, Swarthmore, Haverford Township, Springfield, and Radnor. School-driven demand tends to cushion a rate slowdown, so I expect those to hold up best.

The value end of the county, places like Upper Darby, Chester, and Lansdowne, is where buyers are most likely to find room to negotiate. Those markets lean on first-time buyers and investors, and both groups are the most rate sensitive people in the market.

If you want numbers for one town instead of the whole county, I keep market reports for Springfield, Media, Haverford Township, Drexel Hill, Ridley Township, and several others. For anywhere else, the market report search builds one for any town in the county.

What This Means If You're Buying

You have more room to negotiate than you've had all year. Fewer buyers in the pool means you can ask for closing cost help, repairs, or a price that reflects what the house is actually worth instead of what three competing offers pushed it to.

Don't sit around waiting for 6%. Nobody knows when rates come back down, and if they do, you can refinance. You can't go back and negotiate on a house somebody else bought. Get pre-approved before you start touring, and know your real monthly number at today's rate, not the rate you saw in a headline last spring. If the payment is the problem, ask me about rate buydowns and seller credits. That's my old world, and there's usually more than one way to structure a deal.

Browse homes for sale in Delaware County »

What This Means If You're Selling

Price to the market you're in, not the one you remember. Overpricing gets punished faster when buyers have options, and a listing that sits for 60 days ends up selling for less than one priced right on day one. Expect a little more back and forth than your neighbor got in June. That's the rate environment, not your house.

If you've got a low rate locked in and you're not sure moving makes sense, I wrote a separate breakdown on whether to keep your low rate or sell.

Find out what your home is worth »

Past Delaware County Market Updates

If you want to see how we got here, these are the seasonal snapshots I wrote along the way. Each one reflects the market at the time it was written.

Talk It Through With Me

County-wide numbers only get you so far. What matters is your street, your price point, and your monthly payment. If you're thinking about a move in the next year, call me and we'll run your actual numbers.

Contact Ben or get a home valuation. For every town and school district in the county, visit the Delaware County Real Estate Guide.

Mortgage rates are Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey weekly averages. Local price, days on market, contract, and inventory figures are from my spring and summer 2026 market updates and reflect the months noted. Forecasts are my opinion, not guarantees.

Licensed Real Estate Agent in Pennsylvania and Delaware | Premier Property Sales and Rentals | 192 Saxer Avenue, Springfield, PA 19064 | 484-442-0295