Townsend, DE housing market
The typical Townsend home is worth about $500,000, up 3.1% in a year, 23% above the Delaware typical home.
Home values, sales, trends and how Townsend compares with the towns next door — updated as new data is published.
Townsend at a glance
Only 2 sales in May 2026: in a market this size, monthly medians swing a lot, so the typical value above is the steadier guide.
Typical home value, 2016–2026
Show as a table
| January | Townsend | Delaware |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $297,000 | $256,000 |
| 2018 | $310,000 | $263,000 |
| 2019 | $324,000 | $271,000 |
| 2020 | $325,000 | $277,000 |
| 2021 | $360,000 | $306,000 |
| 2022 | $408,000 | $344,000 |
| 2023 | $445,000 | $370,000 |
| 2024 | $461,000 | $388,000 |
| 2025 | $473,000 | $397,000 |
| 2026 | $494,000 | $404,000 |
| August 2026 | $500,000 | $406,000 |
18 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 18 new homes in Townsend in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $5.3 million to build. That's 6.4 per 1,000 residents, about the pace of Delaware as a whole. Over the past 10 years, Townsend has permitted 229 homes in all.
Show as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 12 | 12 | 0 | $3.6 million |
| 2025 | 18 | 18 | 0 | $5.3 million |
| 2024 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $4.6 million |
| 2023 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $5.6 million |
| 2022 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| 2021 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $706,000 |
| 2020 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $4.7 million |
| 2019 | 36 | 36 | 0 | $8.4 million |
| 2018 | 33 | 33 | 0 | $7.6 million |
| 2017 | 37 | 37 | 0 | $8.5 million |
| 2016 | 40 | 40 | 0 | $9.1 million |
| 2015 | 46 | 46 | 0 | $10.3 million |
| 2014 | 22 | 22 | 0 | $4.6 million |
| 2013 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $2.1 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, through August 2026.
3.3 years of income
The typical Townsend home costs about 3.3 years of the town's median household income, less than across Delaware (4.8 years).
How Townsend ranks on affordability →
Home value ÷ ACS median household income.
Owners, rent & taxes
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,900
HUD's Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in Townsend is $1,900 a month, utilities included: roughly what a modest, recently rented unit costs. Renters already in Townsend pay a median of $1,193, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put. A two-bedroom takes about 15% of the town's median household income.
Studio $1,470 · 4 bedrooms $2,540
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, FY2026 Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (19734; Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA), weighted by land area. A Fair Market Rent is the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Recent listings in Townsend
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, August 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Listings link to their publishers.