Analytics built by: Location, Inc.
Raw data sources: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Methodology: NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data
With 44,261 people, 16,461 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $140,163, house prices in Wilkes-Barre are some of the most affordable in Pennsylvania as well as the nation.
Single-family detached homes are the single most common housing type in Wilkes-Barre, accounting for 51.13% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Wilkes-Barre include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 18.45%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 16.45%), and a few row houses and other attached homes ( 13.57%).
The most prevalent building size and type in Wilkes-Barre are three and four bedroom dwellings, chiefly found in single-family detached homes. The city has a mixture of owners and renters, with 44.02% owning and 55.98% renting.
The housing in Wilkes-Barre was primarily built before 1939 ( 46.29%), making the housing stock in Wilkes-Barre some of the oldest overall in America, although there is a range of ages of homes in Wilkes-Barre. The next most important housing age is between 1970-1999 ( 25.75%), followed by between 1940-1969 ( 25.17%). There's also some housing in Wilkes-Barre built between 2000 and later ( 2.79%).
Vacant housing appears to be an issue in Wilkes-Barre. Fully 17.32% of the housing stock is classified as vacant. Left unchecked, vacant Wilkes-Barre homes and apartments can be a drag on the real estate market, holding Wilkes-Barre real estate prices below levels they could achieve if vacant housing was absorbed into the market and became occupied. Housing vacancy rates are a useful measure to consider, along with other things, if you are a home buyer or a real estate investor.
Real estate appreciation rates in Wilkes-Barre's have tracked to near the national average over the last then years, with the annual appreciation rate averaging 6.25% during the period.
Appreciation rates are so strong in Wilkes-Barre that despite a nationwide downturn in the housing market, Wilkes-Barre real estate has continued to appreciate in value faster than most communities. Looking at just the latest twelve months, Wilkes-Barre appreciation rates continue to be some of the highest in America, at 10.08%, which is higher than appreciation rates in 87.71% of the cities and towns in the nation. Based on the last twelve months, short-term real estate investors have found good fortune in Wilkes-Barre. Wilkes-Barre appreciation rates in the latest quarter were at 6.05%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 26.51%.
Importantly, NeighborhoodScout’s exclusive research found that Wilkes-Barre's housing market shows one of the <a href="/blog/highest-appreciating-cities">top real estate appreciation rates in the U.S.A.</a> in the latest quarter, which may signal the city’s near-future real estate investment strength.
Relative to Pennsylvania, our data show that Wilkes-Barre's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 80% of the other cities and towns in Pennsylvania.
One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Wilkes-Barre differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Wilkes-Barre - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 2000, to assist you in making the best Wilkes-Barre real estate investment or home purchase decisions.
$140,163
for Pennsylvania
for nation
16,461
$1,493 / per month