Analytics built by: Location, Inc.
Raw data sources: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Methodology: NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data
With 29,193 people, 13,302 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $97,812, house prices in Parkersburg are some of the most affordable in West Virginia as well as the nation.
Single-family detached homes are the single most common housing type in Parkersburg, accounting for 74.09% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Parkersburg include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 11.94%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 11.61%), and a few mobile homes or trailers ( 1.36%).
The most prevalent building size and type in Parkersburg are three and four bedroom dwellings, chiefly found in single-family detached homes. The city has a mixture of owners and renters, with 62.99% owning and 37.01% renting.
At the end of World War II, American soldiers returned home triumphant and, with the help of the GI Bill, built homes by the millions on the edges of America's cities. These homes were predominantly capes and ranches, modest in size, but built to house a growing middle-class as the 20th century became the American century. Parkersburg's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 44.83% of the city's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Parkersburg include homes built before 1939 ( 27.99%) and housing constructed between 1970-1999 ( 22.71%). There's also some housing in Parkersburg built between 2000 and later ( 4.47%).
Vacant housing appears to be an issue in Parkersburg. Fully 12.86% of the housing stock is classified as vacant. Left unchecked, vacant Parkersburg homes and apartments can be a drag on the real estate market, holding Parkersburg real estate prices below levels they could achieve if vacant housing was absorbed into the market and became occupied. Housing vacancy rates are a useful measure to consider, along with other things, if you are a home buyer or a real estate investor.
Some of the lowest real estate appreciation rates in America over the last ten years have been in Parkersburg, where house values have increased just 25.62%, which is annualized rate of 2.31%. This rate is lower than the appreciation rate found in 90% of the cities and towns in America.
Over the last year, Parkersburg appreciation rates have trailed the rest of the nation. In the last twelve months, Parkersburg's appreciation rate has been -18.27%, which is lower than appreciation rates in most communities in America. In the latest quarter, NeighborhoodScout's data show that house appreciation rates in Parkersburg were at -1.57%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of -6.15%.
Notably, Parkersburg's appreciation rate in the latest quarter is one of the lowest in America.
Relative to West Virginia, our data show that Parkersburg's latest annual appreciation rate is lower than 90% of the other cities and towns in West Virginia.
One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Parkersburg differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Parkersburg - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 2000, to assist you in making the best Parkersburg real estate investment or home purchase decisions.
$97,812
for West virginia
for nation
13,302
$1,444 / per month