More Homes Are for Sale Than Any August in Five Years — Here's What It Actually Means
Why are there more homes for sale in South Central Pennsylvania right now? Eight of the nine counties tracked here — including Franklin, Cumberland, Adams and Washington County, Maryland — posted their highest August active-listing count in five years. But local supply still runs 1.4 to 3.2 months against 4.9 months nationally.
Those two facts belong in the same sentence, and almost nobody puts them there.
If you own a home in Franklin County and you have been watching signs go up around Chambersburg and Greencastle all summer, your eyes are not lying to you. Active listings across this region are genuinely higher than they have been at any point since 2021. In Franklin County alone, active inventory sits 38% above the five-year August average.
What that does not mean is that the market has turned against you. Nationally, the National Association of REALTORS® reported a 4.9-month supply of unsold inventory in August 2026 — the highest in more than a decade, and the first time total inventory topped 1.6 million units since November 2019. Not one county in this region is close to that. The loosest local market, Washington County, Maryland, is at 3.2 months. The tightest, Lancaster County, is at 1.4.
This post breaks down where the inventory actually went up, where it did not, and what a seller in this corridor should do about it this fall.
How much has inventory actually gone up?
Here is every county, using Bright MLS data calculated September 4, 2026. "Months' supply" is active listings divided by homes that closed in August — how long it would take to sell everything currently listed at August's pace.
| County | Active Listings (Aug 2026) | vs. Aug 2025 | vs. 5-Yr Aug Avg | Months' Supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, MD | 487 | +23.9% | +47.6% | 3.2 |
| Franklin, PA | 435 | +18.2% | +38.1% | 3.1 |
| Adams, PA | 301 | +14.0% | +36.8% | 2.2 |
| Fulton, PA | 24 | +9.1% | +33.3% | 2.7 |
| Cumberland, PA | 556 | +6.3% | +23.8% | 2.0 |
| Chester, PA | 864 | +8.7% | +22.6% | 1.6 |
| Lancaster, PA | 685 | +11.9% | +21.5% | 1.4 |
| York, PA | 949 | +6.5% | +17.7% | 1.8 |
| Perry, PA | 66 | −29.0% | +3.1% | 1.4 |
Every county except Perry set a five-year August high for active listings.
The arithmetic behind the build is not dramatic. In Franklin County over June, July and August, 586 homes came on the market and 508 went under contract. That is a gap of 78 homes across three months — and active inventory rose from 345 in May to 435 in August, a gain of 90. Supply did not surge. It simply outran contracts by a small margin, three months in a row, and small margins compound.
Does more inventory mean home prices are falling?
Not in most of this region. Seven of the nine counties posted a higher median sold price in August 2026 than in August 2025:
- Cumberland County: $361,630, up 7.9%
- Fulton County: $241,000, up 9.5%
- Perry County: $299,000, up 17.3%
- York County: $320,000, up 6.7%
- Washington County, MD: $327,500, up 5.6%
- Lancaster County: $385,000, up 5.5%
- Adams County: $360,000, up 2.8%
The two exceptions are the ones worth understanding. Chester County landed at $570,000 — exactly flat against last August. Franklin County came in at $300,575, down 0.7% year over year, with a year-to-date median of $290,000 that is precisely even with last year.
Flat is not falling. But it is a real change from the appreciation this corridor posted in 2024 and 2025, and a Franklin County seller who priced off a neighbor's 2025 sale is pricing off a number the market is no longer beating.
Nationally, the median existing-home price rose 1.6% year over year to $429,100 in August. Most of this region outpaced that.
Why is Perry County going the opposite direction?
Perry County is the single exception, and it is a sharp one. Active listings came in at 66, down 29% from last August's 93 and only 3% above the five-year average. At the same time, 312 homes have closed in Perry County in 2026 against 245 a year ago — a 27.3% increase.
More buyers, fewer listings. That combination is why Perry's median sold price jumped 17.3% year over year.
One honest caveat: Perry County closed 48 sales in August. In a county that size, a handful of higher-priced transactions moves the median, and the year-to-date median of $275,000 is actually down 0.7% from a year ago. The inventory shortage is real and durable. The month's price spike is partly composition. Both things are true.
Are homes taking longer to sell?
This splits by market, and it is the most useful signal in the report.
Faster than last August: Adams (25 days, nine days faster), Lancaster (19 days, four faster), Franklin (29 days, three faster), York (19 days, two faster).
Slower than last August: Cumberland (27 days, ten slower), Chester (21 days, one slower), Fulton (57 days, but on only nine closings).
Unchanged: Perry (30 days), Washington, MD (36 days).
For context, NAR reported a national median of 31 days on market in August. Most of this region is beating that.
The sold-to-original-list-price ratio tells a parallel story. Lancaster County leads at 103.8% — the typical Lancaster home sold for nearly 4% above its original asking price, the strongest August reading in five years. Franklin County's 98.1% was also a five-year August high. Meanwhile Cumberland County slipped to 98.8% from 100.4% a year ago, and Chester County's 100.1% was its weakest August in five years.
So the added inventory has not uniformly weakened seller pricing power. In Franklin and Lancaster it strengthened.
Why did inventory build now?
Mortgage rates are the most likely driver. Rates dipped below 6% in late February 2026 for the first time in three and a half years, which pulled sellers off the sidelines heading into spring. By September, the 30-year fixed had climbed back to 6.76%, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey — up from 6.35% a year earlier.
Sellers listed into a low-rate spring. Buyers are now shopping a higher-rate fall. That spread is what leaves extra homes sitting on the board in September.
What does this mean if you're selling this fall?
Three practical takeaways for a homeowner in Franklin, Cumberland, Adams, Fulton or Washington County, Maryland.
Your competition is real, and it is local. Regional averages will not tell you whether four comparable homes are listed within two miles of you. That number matters more than any county statistic in this post.
Day-one pricing is doing more work than it did two years ago. In markets where the sold-to-list ratio held up — Franklin at 98.1%, Lancaster at 103.8% — homes were meeting the market on arrival rather than chasing it down through reductions. The homes dragging days-on-market averages upward are the ones that started high.
Demand has not left. Across the region, buyers put roughly 87% to 98% of newly listed homes under contract over the past three months. Adams County closed 137 sales in August, up 31.7% year over year. Perry County's closings are up 27.3% for the year. Washington County, Maryland has closed 1,090 homes in 2026 against 1,017 last year.
A five-year inventory high in a market still running at two to three months of supply is not a buyer's market. It is a market where pricing accuracy separates a sale from a price reduction.
Frequently asked questions
Is now a bad time to sell a home in Franklin County, PA? No. Franklin County's sold-to-original-list-price ratio in August 2026 was 98.1%, the strongest August figure in five years, and homes averaged 29 days on market. Prices are flat year over year rather than rising, so the pricing strategy matters more than it did in 2024 — but buyers are transacting near full asking price.
How many months of housing supply does South Central PA have? As of August 2026, months' supply ranged from 1.4 months in Lancaster and Perry Counties to 3.2 months in Washington County, Maryland. Franklin County sits at 3.1 months. All are below the national 4.9-month supply NAR reported for August 2026, and a balanced market is generally considered 4.5 to 6 months.
Which county in the region has the most homes for sale? York County, Pennsylvania, with 949 active listings in August 2026 — the largest raw count in the nine-county area. Measured against its own five-year average, though, Washington County, Maryland has the largest oversupply at 47.6% above normal.
Are home prices going down in Chester County, PA? Not yet. Chester County's August 2026 median sold price of $570,000 was exactly flat against August 2025, and the year-to-date median of $570,000 is up 1.8% over last year. The signal to watch is the sold-to-original-list-price ratio, which slipped to 100.1% — the lowest August reading in five years.
What your home is actually worth
County numbers describe a market. They do not price a house. Two homes on the same road in Greencastle can be $60,000 apart on condition, lot, systems and finish, and no median figure in this post accounts for that.
If you want to know where your home sits against the homes actually competing with it right now, I will pull the comparables and walk you through them.
Text or call Jay Starr, REALTOR® with RE/MAX 1st Advantage, at (717) 658-0177 for a free home value review, or visit jaystarr.com/cma/property-valuation.
Serving Franklin, Fulton, Cumberland, Adams and Bedford Counties, Pennsylvania, and Washington County, Maryland.
Market data source: Bright MLS Local Market Insight reports, statistics calculated September 4, 2026.