Will your home sell quickly when that time comes? The short answer: It depends where you live.

A few key statistics help determine how fast a home will sell. One of these indicators is the average "days on market," or DOM within a given geographic area. This number is determined by citing the first day a home is "active" on the multiple listing service (MLS) and counting the days until it is sold, or goes "under contract." Looking at the DOM is a quick way to grasp the temperature or liquidity of a market. The lower the DOM, the hotter the market.

Recently released statistics now available at www.EileenVoylesRealtor.com indicate that North Londonderry Township (Lebanon County, Palmyra Area School District) is the hottest market in Sun Country, which includes all municipalities within Derry Township, Lower Dauphin, Elizabethtown Area and Palmyra area school districts (see graph). Over the past 12 months, single-family residences have sold in North Londonderry Township, on average, in 21 days, out-performing traditional market leaders like Derry Township (39 DOM) and South Hanover Township (41 DOM).

What is it about North Londonderry Township that has buyers in a frenzy?

It can't be price; statistics show South Londonderry Township (also Lebanon County, Palmyra Area School District) homes cost just 1 percent more, yet South Londonderry Township comes in "coolest" in our market at 92 DOM.

It can't be schools; Derry Township School District ranks 20th in the state – the highest in our region, (see PA's best school districts, new 2020 rankings) – yet Derry Township's DOM is higher than North Londonderry Township's.

Former North Londonderry Township resident Tracie Atkinson may have the answer. She sold her home in the London Croft neighborhood earlier this year.

"We had been in our home for about two and a half years," said Tracie, whose family moved west to be near extended family. "We kept things fixed up, neutral and updated. When it was time to sell, we had a great experience. Thankfully, we sold our home in one day, with multiple offers. We attribute this success to having purchased at a good price in a beautiful spot.

"We picked the Palmyra/Annville area when we moved here," continued Atkinson, "because colleagues and friends that live in North Londonderry Township told us it was close to everything in Hershey, the taxes were lower, and we would get more for our money."

Whether you would debate or defend Atkinson's comment, one thing is certain: North Londonderry Township residents are proud of their community and sell themselves pretty darn well.

Let's end with a quick leap to the 10,000-foot view. Within the entire Sun Country readership area over the past year, the average DOM is 42. This is good news for every property owner; DOMs in the mid to low-double digits indicates a very strong seller's market.

The housing shortage continues. A peek at DOM reveals wherever you are in Sun Country, now may be a good time to capitalize on this market's strength.

Please call or email me any time with your real estate questions, large or small, or log on to www.EileenVoylesRealtor.com for current statistical reports including DOM, average listed and sold prices, and sales volume of all 13 municipalities.

Welcome to summer! Until next time, I'm here for you, Making your life better!

Eileen S. Voyles is a REALTOR® with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. She can be reached at 717-508-4610, or evoyles@homesale.com.

https://news.thesunontheweb.com/articles/the-real-scene-15/