When it comes to new housing in the Philadelphia suburbs, Chester County is ahead of the curve. Compared to the rest of the collar counties, Chester has allowed for more housing units over the past few years, writes Jake Blumgart for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Despite that, new housing is still on the decline compared to its all-time high in the late eighties. A Chester County planning commissioner said that a driving factor of a slowing in housing production would be the availability of suitable land.  

Other factors include opposition against development and attempts to preserve land, such as Crebilly Farm. Residents instead have seen more housing being built in areas already developed, as opposed to more green areas.  

“The building that’s going on in Chester County today, I feel like it’s been much more thoughtful in the last decade,” said activist Mindy Rhodes. 

Over the past few decades Chester County has made the shift towards a mixture of units including multifamily housing as opposed to single-family homes. The average home is still the priciest in the region, at half a million dollars.  

Read more about housing development in Chester County in The Philadelphia Inquirer.  

Top five places to live in Chester County.