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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 24, 2006 Center City Housing Prices increased 3.7 Percent in the Fourth Quarter of 2005 Center City also saw a 3.2 percent increase in the number of residential homes sold DEVON, PA - Center City median home prices increased 3.7 percent to $280,000 in the fourth quarter of 2005, according to Prudential Fox & Roach REALTORS® HomExpert Market Report ©. The median sale price of homes in the fourth quarter of 2004 was $270,000. In the fourth quarter of 2005, Center City saw 292 homes sold, a 3.2 percent increase, compared to 283 homes sold in 2004. The average number of days a home remained on the market decreased from 54 days in the fourth quarter of 2004 to 41 days in the fourth quarter of 2005. The median price of new listings of homes in Center City also increased in the fourth quarter by 21.2 percent to $375,000 in 2005 from $309,450 in 2004, according to the HomExpert Market Report. Center City averaged 1,168 homes per month available for sale in the fourth quarter of 2005, an increase of 61.7 percent from 722 homes per month during the same time in 2004. Other fourth quarter HomExpert Market Report© findings: - Chester County led with the highest median sale price in the five-county region at $295,500, followed by Bucks County ($287,658), Montgomery County ($265,000), Delaware County ($198,500) and Philadelphia County ($131,000). - Philadelphia County led the five-county region in median price increase with a jump of 19.1 percent. Bucks County posted an increase of 10.6 percent followed by Delaware County at 9.5 percent, Montgomery County at 8.2 percent and Chester County at 7.5 percent. - Philadelphia County sold 4,564 homes in the fourth quarter of 2005, a decrease of 6.5 percent. Montgomery County sold 2,767 homes, a decrease of 2.2 percent, Delaware County sold 1,936 homes a decrease of 5.8 percent, Bucks County sold 1,785 a decrease of 8.7 percent, and Chester County sold 1,595, a decrease of 10.9 percent. About Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS Prudential Fox and Roach, REALTORS®, the nation's fourth largest provider of home services, is an independently owned and operated member of the Prudential Real Estate Affiliate, Inc. and the largest Prudential affiliate in the country. As the Tri-State area's real estate leader, the company has more than 64 sales locations and 3,700 associates. Through its affiliate, the Trident Group, the company provides one-stop shopping and facilitated services to its clients including mortgage financing and title, property and casualty insurance. About HomExpert The 2006 HomExpert Market Report is a product of the Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors' Research Division. Findings were compiled using the company's exclusive HomExpert service, which analyzes TreND Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data and provides up-to-the-minute statistics. HomExpert offers exclusive analysis of real estate activity regionally, by county, MLS area or zip code across the Prudential Fox & Roach service area. ###