Ambler is the small Montgomery County borough I recommend when a buyer wants to walk to dinner, a movie and the train. It had 6,807 residents at the 2020 Census and sits about 16 miles north of Center City (Wikipedia). Here's how I explain it to the families I help move here.

Photo: Famartin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

A town named for a hero

Quakers William and George Harmer bought most of what is now Ambler from William Penn in 1716, and William built a gristmill on the Wissahickon Creek, the area's first commercial venture (Wikipedia). After the Great Train Wreck of 1856, local Quaker Mary Ambler walked two miles to the scene with supplies and turned her home into a hospital, so the railroad renamed the station for her in 1869, and the borough took her name when it incorporated in 1888 (same source). The Keasbey and Mattison Company arrived in 1881 and built about 400 homes, an opera house and Lindenwold Castle, bringing Southern Italian stoneworkers whose families helped shape the town; Ambler's sister city is Maida, Calabria (same source).

Photo: Montgomery County Planning Commission / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

The vibe

Ambler packs a lot of culture into a small footprint. Butler Avenue is the main street, and the borough's stone and brick homes reflect its company-town history (same source). Its old factory has had a second act, too: in 2013 the Keasbey & Mattison boiler house and smokestack became the LEED Platinum Ambler Boiler House office building (Wikipedia).

Local favorites

The Ambler Theater opened in 1928 as a Warner Brothers movie house and is now a restored, nonprofit, community-owned theater showing independent and art films (Wikipedia). Act II Playhouse, a 130-seat professional theater founded in 1998, has won six Barrymore Awards (same source). The Ambler Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1951, performs several concerts a year (same source). Temple University Ambler, founded in 1910 as the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women, is just outside the borough line (same source). I haven't confirmed current hours or seasons for every spot below, so check before you go.

Photo: Montgomery County Planning Commission / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Schools: Wissahickon

Ambler is in the Wissahickon School District, whose zoned elementary schools for Ambler are Lower Gwynedd and Shady Grove, with one middle school and one high school for the district (Wikipedia). Always confirm the assigned school for a specific address with the district.

Photo: Dorevabelfiore / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Getting around

Ambler station on SEPTA's Lansdale/Doylestown Line is a major park-and-ride with service to Center City, and SEPTA buses 94 and 95 connect to Chestnut Hill, Willow Grove and Gulph Mills (Wikipedia). PA 309 runs just east of town, and the Turnpike interchange is just south in Fort Washington (same source).

Taxes and resale requirements

Here's what to expect for property taxes and resale steps. One mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value (not the sale price), so mills × 100 gives the yearly tax on a $100,000 assessment.

Ambler Borough: 42.367 total mills = 5.952 county (5.462 county + 0.49 community college) + 9.815 borough + 26.6 school (county and borough: 2026; school: 2026–27 school year). On a $100,000 assessed value, that's about $4,236.70 a year (42.367 × 100). Ambler requires a resale Use & Occupancy inspection (no fee listed in SRA), and a sewer lateral inspection has been part of it since September 1, 2024. (Millage: Montgomery County Board of Assessment Appeals, 2026 rates. Resale requirements: Suburban Realtors Alliance municipal database (members-only), accessed Oct 13, 2026.)

Tax bills also depend on your assessment, any homestead exclusion and the discount or penalty period, so I always pull the exact figures for a specific house.

The Ambler market right now

Ambler is small, so the sample is small, but the signal is strong: homes sold well above original asking on average, and most went under contract within a month.

I pulled these numbers from Bright MLS on October 13, 2026, for residential closed sales in Ambler Borough (Montgomery County), by close date. Over the last 12 months (October 2025 through September 2026), 40 homes sold at a median of $510,000 and an average of $546,880. They averaged 14.4 days on market, and the average sold-to-original-list-price ratio was 103.14%. 36 of those 40 sales had 30 or fewer days on market. Q3 2026 alone brought 10 sales at a $577,500 median and 106.65% of original list, averaging 10.0 days on market. As of October 13, 2026 there were 5 active and coming-soon listings.

Source: Bright MLS, Ambler Borough, Residential, closed by close date, pulled Oct 13, 2026; information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Moving up in Ambler

Most of my clients aren't first-time buyers; they're families selling one home and buying the next at the same time. My job is to run both sides on one calendar: pricing your current home, getting your financing options (a sale-contingent offer, a bridge loan or HELOC, or a rent-back) lined up before you list, and timing the closings so you only move once.

What clients say

Melinda and JD Hallman: "We had such a great experience working with Nick. As first-time homebuyers, we really didn’t know what to expect, but he made the whole process feel a lot less overwhelming. He’s super knowledgeable and always took the time to answer our questions in a way that actually made sense. One of the things we appreciated most is that Nick is aggressive in the best way. He really advocates for you and doesn’t let things slide. When we were looking at houses, he pointed out things we 100% would have missed on our own, which honestly made a huge difference in helping us feel confident about our decisions. And when we were with him, we never felt like just another client. He gave us his full attention every time. From the very beginning, he also set expectations around timing and the process. He told us when he thought we’d close the first time we met, and he ended up being pretty spot on, which was impressive. Also have to mention his assistant Nicole. She was amazing. Super organized, quick to respond, and kept everything moving behind the scenes so nothing fell through the cracks. You can tell they work really well together. Overall, we couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out and are really grateful we had Nick (and Nicole) on our side. Would absolutely recommend them to anyone buying or selling!"

Review from Google.

I'm Nick Rau, President of Sales with the Rarity Real Estate Team, ranked in the Top 1% of agents nationally (RealTrends 2025, individual), with more than 135 Google reviews, and I'd love to help you make your move to (or within) Ambler.

Contact Nick

Nick Rau, Rarity Real Estate Team
1100 N Delaware Ave Suite A, Philadelphia, PA 19125
Phone: (215) 593-7498
Email: [email protected]
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More local news on the Bucks Co. & Beyond Daily blog.

Ambler FAQ

Is Ambler in Bucks County?

No. Ambler is a borough in Montgomery County, about 16 miles north of Center City Philadelphia.

Is there a train from Ambler to Philadelphia?

Yes. Ambler station is on SEPTA's Lansdale/Doylestown Line, with service to Center City.

What's the median home price in Ambler?

Over the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), the median sold price in Ambler Borough was $510,000; in Q3 2026 it was $577,500 (Bright MLS, pulled Oct 13, 2026).

How fast are homes selling in Ambler?

36 of 40 sales over the last 12 months had 30 or fewer days on market, at an average of 103.14% of original list price (Bright MLS, pulled Oct 13, 2026).