The county and its towns
13 pages- 01
Chester County
1996-era assessments, a 30.6% common level ratio, transfer tax at 2% with three exceptions, and the four kinds of loan file this county actually produces.
- 02
Exton
A $749,995 July median, West Chester Area schools at 24.16 mills, West Whiteland at 2.000 mills, two SEPTA stations and an Amtrak platform, and new-construction financing.
- 03
Downingtown
A $589,500 July median across 205 sales, Downingtown Area schools at 33.0268 mills, borough trash up 50% for 2026, and the flood question the appraisal will ask.
- 04
Malvern
An $825,000 July median against a $832,750 conforming limit, Great Valley schools at 26.1000 mills, and a borough transfer tax of 2.5% where the townships pay 2%.
- 05
Paoli
A $599,950 July median, T/E at 31.1364 mills against Great Valley at 26.1000, and the Tredyffrin line that moves transfer tax from 2% to 2.5%.
- 06
Berwyn
A $1,197,450 July median on 42 sales, T/E schools at 31.1364 mills, and a township line that moves the transfer tax half a point on the same street.
- 07
Kennett Square
A $700,000 July median on 137 sales, Kennett Consolidated at 36.2036 mills, three township sewer districts with a $7,316 connection fee, and how USDA eligibility actually gets checked.
- 08
Coatesville
A $369,450 area median on 184 sales, a 3% city transfer tax against 2% in the townships, renovation loans on pre-1940 brick, and the $40,000 county program that actually fits here.
- 09
Oxford
A $539,000 area median on 106 sales, Oxford Area schools at 38.4391 mills for 2025-26, wells and on-lot septic under Act 537, and how USDA eligibility is checked.
- 10
Chadds Ford
A $975,000 July median on 63 sales, Unionville-Chadds Ford at two millage rates, Pennsbury's three-year septic rule, and the Brandywine's record crest.
- 11
Avondale and West Grove
A $693,545 median in West Grove and $589,950 in Avondale, Avon Grove's 36.00 mills for 2025-26, London Grove's three-year pumping rule, and the USDA check that happens address by address.
- 12
Honey Brook
A thin-sample $457,450 July median, a two-county school district, wells and on-lot septic as the norm, and what changes when the listing includes acreage.
- 13
Thorndale and Caln
A sold range instead of a median, Caln's proposed 6.840 mills for 2026, $408 a year for trash, the line's western terminus, and the culvert work along Beaver Creek.
What changes from one township to the next
Three things, mostly. The realty transfer tax is 2% of the price nearly everywhere in the county, 2.5% in Malvern Borough and Tredyffrin Township, and 3% inside the City of Coatesville. USDA eligibility follows lines drawn by the Department of Agriculture, so the south and west of the county qualify in places and the Exton side does not. And every township levies its own millage on top of the county's and the school district's, all on 1996 assessed values, so a quoted rate tells you very little until you multiply it against the actual assessment of the actual house.
The one thing that does not change: a licensed Pennsylvania lender calls you back whichever page you called from, usually the same business day.