A typical Forest Lake home is worth roughly $230,000
Builders were permitted 2 new homes in 2025.
What kind of housing town is Forest Lake?
Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.
A typical home costs 3.4 years of income
Less than across Pennsylvania (3.7 years). Try your own numbers below.
That covers a typical Forest Lake home, with $37K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,080 a month here, $310 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Forest Lake’s typical property tax (0.93% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
80% of Forest Lake households own their home
Half of Forest Lake’s homes were built before 1972.
Pennsylvania: 69% own.
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,080
Renters already here pay a median of $933, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Susquehanna County, PA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
2 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 2 new homes in Forest Lake in 2025, all single-family houses. That's 1.7 per 1,000 residents, about the pace of Pennsylvania as a whole. Over the past 10 years, Forest Lake has permitted 16 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Forest Lake's population fell by 79 even though 12 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. 23% of Forest Lake's homes are seasonal or vacation homes, which adds housing without adding residents. Across Pennsylvania: 1.4 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 1 | 1 | 0 | $311,000 |
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $622,000 |
| 2024 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $400,000 |
| 2023 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $150,000 |
| 2022 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $300,000 |
| 2017 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $501,000 |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $300,000 |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $135,000 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $200,000 |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $86,000 |
| 2010 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $940,000 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $361,000 |
| 2007 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $834,000 |
| 2006 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $812,000 |
| 2005 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $325,000 |
| 2004 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $150,000 |
| 2003 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $150,000 |
| 2002 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $95,000 |
| 2001 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $75,000 |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Forest Lake vs. its neighbors
Forest Lake is the least expensive of 5 neighboring towns. Tap one to see its housing page.
Compare more
| Town | Typical value | 1-yr change | 2-bed rent | New homes 2025 | Median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Lake | $230K* | — | $1,080 | 2 | $68,750 |
| Bridgewater | $272K* | — | $1,040 | 2 | $65,625 |
| Silver Lake | $280K* | — | $1,220 | 7 | $87,083 |
| Friendsville | — | — | $1,300 | 0 | $85,000 |
| Middletown | — | — | $1,200 | 1 | $77,250 |
| Rush | $289K* | — | $1,070 | 1 | $61,625 |
| Choconut | $235K* | — | $1,300 | 0 | $60,852 |
Typical value: Zillow Home Value Index; * Census median home value where Zillow has none. † FHFA price index change where Zillow has none. Rent: HUD Fair Market Rent. New homes: Census building permits.
Neighbors talk housing
What Forest Lake buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. 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. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer.