What $500K Will Buy You in Jenkintown
900 West Ave., Jenkintown, Pa. 19046 | TREND image via BHHS Fox & Roach
In case you haven’t heard, we’re in the throes of a huge seller’s market. Inventory is at historic lows, and bidding wars have broken out for available properties in some places. This has put a squeeze on the middle of the market, and moderately priced homes are getting scarcer, as we found when we went hunting for homes selling somewhere around $500,000.
We went through several popular suburbs before finding one where three homes in that price range were on the market. The one we found is Jenkintown. This very walkable northern suburb offers an attractive downtown, quick access to Center City via SEPTA Regional Rail, and many handsome older homes for sale, like these three.
900 West Ave. (above) | 5 beds, 3 full, 1 half baths, 4,379 square feet, $518,000
The listing describes this Dutch Colonial home as in need of updating, and certainly most potential buyers might not share its current owner’s love of mirrored walls. But many of its features remain quite attractive, like the fireplace in the master bedroom, its European-style master bath with jetted tub and stall shower, its bonus room on the main floor and the deck off one of the third-floor bedrooms. Beamed ceilings in the family room and kitchen make those spaces distinctive, and the home is close to the center of Jenkintown and less than a mile from the Regional Rail station.
900 West Ave., Jenkintown, Pa. 19046 [Kathy Cairone | BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors]
1502 Noble Rd., Jenkintown, Pa. 19046 | TREND image via Realty Mark Associates
1502 Noble Rd. | 4 beds, 2 full, 1 half baths, 3,640 square feet, $499,900
This stone Colonial is loaded with attractive features, including its light-filled rooms, the stone fireplace in its living room, a flexible open space on the third floor, and a generously sized lot with plenty of room to entertain and relax. There’s also a basement apartment with its own entrance that can serve as an in-law suite or generate rental income. “In person shows better than the photos,” the listing says, and we think the listing may be correct.
1502 Noble Rd., Jenkintown, Pa. 19046 [Aggie Roberts | Realty Mark Associates]
641 Washington Ln., Jenkintown, Pa. 19046 | TREND image via Keller Williams Realty
641 Washington Lane | 5 beds, 3 baths, 2,409 square feet, $499,000
This 1950s Cape Cod home was totally updated in 2010, so it’s in great shape and nicely outfitted. It boasts an open living-dining room with a stone fireplace serving as its hinge, a kitchen outfitted with top-drawer Sub-Zero, Magic Chef and KitchenAid appliances, and an attractive covered bluestone rear patio with latticed archways. The dining room includes built-in cabinets with a wet bar and wine cooler. There’s even a gas fireplace and built-in workbenches in the attached two-car garage. Located at the end of a 200-foot driveway, its siting guarantees privacy, yet it’s convenient to the shops, restaurants and theater in downtown Jenkintown.
This home’s sale price was reduced by $11,000 on July 27.
641 Washington Lane, Jenkintown, Pa. 19046 [The Silva Group | Keller Williams Realty]
