Quintessential Chester County, with homes on large properties

One in a continuing series spotlighting real estate markets in the region's communities.

You figure that if you're already checking out Uwchlan Township, why not cross the border into Upper Uwchlan to see what you can see?

Fact is, they resemble each other in the most important way: quintessential Chester County.

"There is little difference between the two," says John Duffy, of Duffy Real Estate in Narberth and St. Davids, who has sold real estate in both for many years.

"What is important to both communities is the road system - Route 100, Little Conestoga Road, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike - which connect the townships to everywhere," says Duffy. "You can take the Pennsylvania Turnpike and be in Center City in 45 minutes, or drive to Exton and take the train there."

If that sounds familiar, it's because the same has been said about Uwchlan, where the turnpike interchange is located.

A large chunk of Upper Uwchlan is 1,727-acre Marsh Creek State Park, shared with Wallace Township, which includes the 530-acre lake created in 1972 by a dam designed to increase the drinking-water supply, control seasonal flooding, and create recreational opportunities for area residents.

The trade-off was the loss of Milford Mills, a village that once produced paper and textiles but had reverted to agriculture.

Eagle, with its iconic 1859 tavern, is two miles from Marsh Creek. This village has been experiencing growth lately, and Upper Uwchlan has developed a list of enhancements to the township trail system, including providing opportunities for residents to walk or bike to Eagle from nearby developments such as Hickory Park and Upland Farms.

The first trail project, costing $554,000, will go to bid this fall, the township says.

"There are few more bucolic and beautiful settings than Upper Uwchlan," Duffy says. And as autumn takes hold in Chester County, it's a nice destination for a Sunday drive.

To look for a house, of course.

What you will find, by and large, are single-family detached houses, a large number built in the 1970s and 1980s, "but definitely post-World War II," Duffy says, quickly adding that buyers searching for an old farmhouse will not be disappointed.

"They are still building in Upper Uwchlan," he says, "but the builders are primarily local and focus on 10- to 12-lot subdivisions," which have become more common in the Philadelphia suburbs since the housing bubble burst in third quarter 2007.

Buyers here are typically younger people with families moving west from the Main Line and looking for larger houses and reasonable prices, Duffy says.

"With just 12,000 people and schools in the Downingtown Area district, it has a lot of things going for it," Duffy says of Upper Uwchlan, though he might have added fishing and ice skating on Marsh Creek Lake as other important amenities for residents.

In the last 90 days, Duffy says, 55 houses went to settlement here, ranging in price from $242,000 to $673,000. Twenty-one sales are pending, priced from $264,900 to $700,000, with 52 active listings between $292,000 and $795,000.

He says $795,000 is pretty much the high end in Upper Uwchlan, just as it is in Uwchlan.

This town, too, is an attractive one for corporate relocations, especially for those from areas of the country where housing prices are much lower than in metropolitan Philadelphia.

The houses come on large pieces of property and are primarily four-bedroom, 21/2-bath Colonial-style homes.

The median price (half sold for more, half for less) in Upper Uwchlan in second quarter 2016 was $435,500, according to Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox & Roach Realtors' HomExpert Market Report, with houses typically spending an average 44 days on the market.

By comparison, the report says, the median price in Chester County in the second quarter was $318,500.

Upper Uwchlan and Uwchlan are similar with good reason: For more than 125 years, Upper Uwchlan was part of Greater Uwchlan Township.

"Only its unwieldy size of 22.52 square miles was given as a reason for dividing the township into two entities," according to the Upper Uwchlan website.

aheavens@phillynews.com
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