Market research for clients leads me down interesting rabbit holes. Lately, in working with folks in the Elizabethtown Area School District, I delved heavily into home sales for the four municipalities that make up EASD. Who would have thought the township of roughly 4,000 residents nestled in the northwestern corner of Lancaster county, with no major industry, would show up its neighbors in home salability?

From January to May, the median price of a home in Conoy Township was $244,750. Compare this to Elizabethtown Borough ($194,000), Mount Joy Township ($226,000), and West Donegal Township ($234,950).

Kevin McKain, Conoy Township supervisor, shed some light on the township's appeal to home buyers.

"We're a rural setting; it's very quaint here. Almost all of the farms in this township are under Agricultural Reserve and most people around here know that. There's not much room for development and that's a reason they buy and stay. The Susquehanna River Trail is also a draw; people come from all over to walk or ride it and I think it really adds value to our area."

Even more striking is Conoy Township home's average days on the market, or DOM. This is a measurement of how long properties are for sale before receiving an acceptable offer and an agreement to purchase. A super-low DOM composite indicates a hot seller's market.

In May, Conoy Township homes were flying off the shelves with an average on market length of just seven days. Elizabethtown Borough and Mount Joy Township struggled here with 48 days and 60 days on the market, respectively, and West Donegal came in at an average of 29 days to sell a home. Again, as we've discussed numerous times in this column, we're in a crazy seller's market. Normally, taking two months to sell a home sounds like a great gig. But with interest rates low and the economy strong, we're living a new norm.

If we're strictly talking home sale volume per capita, Elizabethtown Borough leads the charge (54 homes sold so far in 2019), verses 38 (West Donegal Township), 33 (Mount Joy Township), and 10 (Conoy Township). This is not surprising, given their demographics.

Let's end today with words from a former U.S. President that still ring true today: "Real estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it be carried away. Purchased with common Sense, paid for in full, and managed with reasonable care, it is about the safest investment in the world." Franklin D. Roosevelt.

For more information about real estate in Sun Country, email me at eileenvoyles@gmail.com or call 717-508-4610.

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