Villanova homes for sale

Homes for sale in Villanova, PA sit on one of two sides of a township line, so sort by Radnor or Lower Merion before you sort by price. Decide on the school system first, because the estimated tax gap is only about $1,850 a year on the typical home. The catch is that a listing's town name won't tell you the side, so read the parcel, and consider Gladwyne homes for sale if you'd rather skip that step.

Sort every Villanova listing by county before you tour it, since that one fact sets the tax rate, school system and township rules. You'll do it by hand from the parcel record, since the town name on a listing won't settle it.

Each estimate is price divided by the county's factor (Delaware 1.83, Montgomery 3.36) times total mills (23.6454 or 47.2727), before homestead relief. Your parcel's assessed value replaces the estimate, and it can reverse the gap on one house. The Villanova, PA guide breaks down what else the line changes.

Radnor-side Villanova homes

Pick this side if the Radnor Township School District is your choice, or if you plan a long hold, since the yearly bill runs lower. Its catch is at closing: a recorder's summary shows a 1.5% local transfer tax, so the total on a typical home could be about $40,276.

Lower Merion-side Villanova homes

Pick this side if the Lower Merion School District is your choice. A law firm's summary shows 1% local, so the transfer total on the same price could be about $32,221, $8,055 less. Half of that gap is about $4,028 to you by custom, a bit over two years of the Radnor side's yearly saving. Confirm both rates with your title company.

Check the parcel's county, its assessed value, its district lookup and its zoning, in that order. The first check can end the conversation in a minute, so run it from the listing's address before you book a showing. Reid can pull recent sales on your road if you'd rather start from there.

County parcel record for a Villanova home

Search the address in both counties' records, since a listing can read "Villanova" on either side. Note the municipality and the assessed value. Multiply that value by 23.6454 or 47.2727 mills: a $900,000 Radnor assessment pays about $21,281, and a $500,000 Lower Merion assessment pays about $23,636.

School district lookups for Villanova addresses

Use the LMSD Address Finder on one side and Radnor's written street descriptions on the other. Don't take a listing's school line as the answer, and ask the district directly about a house near a boundary.

Zoning on a Villanova lot

Ask which zoning district the lot is in on its township's map, then read the minimum lot size in that code. Radnor's R-1 district appears to require one acre per principal building, but that came from an excerpt, so have the township confirm it before you plan to divide or add.

Almost all of what you'll find is a detached house from 1950 to 1999: 93% of units are detached and about 76% were built in those decades. The three special cases below are small, so treat each as a request for a private search and not a filter on a portal.

Villanova mansions and estates

Mansions exist here, but the Census counts only about 155 owner homes at $2M or more, about half of Gladwyne's 305, with wide margins. At $5M you'd pay an estimated $64,600 or $70,300 a year in tax. Press reports from 2018 say almost 300 of the old Ardrossan estate's 650 acres were developed in the 1990s, a dated figure to confirm, and the Ardrossan estate page covers what's on that land now.

New construction in Villanova

Expect little: about 8% of units were built from 2000 to 2019, and the survey shows none since 2020, though a sample zero isn't proof. If you want a new house, ask about lots and teardowns, and check zoning first. New construction on the Main Line looks at the wider area.

Condos and townhomes in Villanova

The survey records about 7% attached and no units in buildings of two or more. That doesn't prove there are no condos, but if you want one, start with Haverford's condos and houses or the Main Line condo guide.