What $500K Will Buy You in Media

Not a blessed thing, it turns out: homes in the borough just aren't that expensive. But if you zoom out to Media's ZIP code, you can find something in the surrounding townships.

154 Longview Circle, Media, Pa. 19063 | Image via Zillow

154 Longview Circle, Media, Pa. 19063 | Image via Zillow

Media is one of those community-revitalization success stories: over a span of about three decades, the once-dowdy Delaware County seat transformed itself into an attractive and lively small community whose Main Street, State Street, has become a regional draw for dining, theater and neighborhood shopping (even as the regional mall outside it was heading in the opposite direction).

“Everybody’s Hometown,” it turns out, remains a very affordable place even with the change. We went looking for a house for sale for $500,000 within the borough’s borders and couldn’t find one. The most expensive home of the handful currently on the market within the borough cost only $395,000.

But if you expand your search to include the surrounding area within Media’s ZIP code (19063), you can find some pretty nice homes priced around $500,000. Most of them are in Upper Providence Township, which all but surrounds the wedge-shaped borough, and that’s where our three picks are also located:

154 Longview Circle (ab0ve) | 3 beds, 3 full, 1 half baths, 3,000 square feet, $495,000

Are you old enough to handle this beautifully situated modern home with touches of the traditional? You’ll need to be: it’s part of a senior living community adjacent to Springton Lake Reservoir. This home is located on a forested lot right next to the reservoir and has great views from its living room, dining room, master bedroom, lower level family room and patio and main floor deck; when the trees are bare, as they are now, you can see the lake itself. This home has plenty to enjoy inside as well, including a large kitchen with plenty of cabinets and a large island, a gas fireplace in the living/dining room, a built-in Russound whole-house sound system and a Japanese rock garden next to the lower-level rear patio. There’s also studio space and 1,000 square feet of storage space in this home.

154 Longview Circle, Media, Pa. 19063 [For sale by owner; listing via Zillow]

17 Jonathan Morris Circle, Media, Pa. 19063 | TREND image via Weichert, Realtors

17 Jonathan Morris Circle, Media, Pa. 19063 | TREND image via Weichert, Realtors

17 Jonathan Morris Circle | 4 beds, 3 full, 1 half baths, 3,701 square feet, $499,900

Over on the other side of Newtown State Road from the home above, you’ll find this similar but slightly older (built in 1986) modern home on a wooded lot, and you can own it even if you’re not a senior citizen yet. The focal point of this home is the soaring two-story-high family room, with its vaulted ceiling and floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace, but it has plenty of other nice features, including a master suite with its own private deck overlooking the lovely back yard and a kitchen whose attached breakfast area has a screened-in porch accessed via sliding glass doors. The roof was replaced in 2012 and the climate control system in 2015.

This home’s price was reduced by $24,100 on Oct. 16. The buyer must also pay a 1.5 percent loss mitigation fee (minimum $2,500).

17 Jonathan Morris Circle, Media, Pa. 19063 [Connielynne Hodgins | Weichert, Realtors – Paoli]

100 Fawn Hill Lane, Media, Pa. 19063 | TREND image via Keller Williams Realty

100 Fawn Hill Lane, Media, Pa. 19063 | TREND image via Keller Williams Realty

100 Fawn Hill Lane | 4 bedrooms, 2 full, 1 half baths, 3,046 square feet, $489,000

This attractive home in the Springton Estates section was completely renovated recently. Its hardwood floors sparkle, it has an attractive stone fireplace in its living room, and its kitchen boasts a contemporary design with a marble tile floor, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and sliding glass doors that lead from the breakfast area to a large rear deck overlooking the back yard. The lower-level rec room, which also has a decorative fireplace, also has walkout access to the back yard. There’s oodles of storage space both inside the home and in two storage sheds next to the rec room on the outside.

This home’s price was reduced by $11,000 on Dec. 14.

100 Fawn Hill Lane, Media, Pa. 19063 [Hong Jin | Keller Williams Realty – Media]