Housing Market Soars in Philadelphia

Nothing but good news is coming out of the Philadelphia housing market. A report by Drexel University showed that this past summer marked the best quarter for Philly real estate since before the Great Recession.

The real estate market is on the rise in Philadelphia.

Growth was most noticeable in the part of the market with very expensive homes, those costing more than $1 million. Researcher Kevin Gillen, writing a report for the Lindy Institute of Urban Innovation, noted that sales at the highest end of the market smashed their previous records… and by a significant margin! July, August, and September saw thirty-four homes sell for $1 million or more. The previous record for million-dollar homes sold was set in 2008, and that was only twenty-five homes.

That’s not to say, however, that the leap in housing was confined to the very rich. All parts of the market saw growth during the summer, say experts. In fact, the greatest gains were not seen in affluent Center City, but in more modest neighborhoods like Frankford/Kensington, South Philly, and West Philly. Gillen called the numbers “positive sign of a more balanced, widespread and equitable recovery in Philadelphia’s long-moribund housing market.” The median home price in Philadelphia is now $142,000, which is a seven percent gain over last year. Also from year to year, the average home value is up 1.3 percent. There were over 4,600 home sales in the third quarter, the most since 2007.

The only real estate-based economic indicator not on the rise per the Drexel report was building permits. Although building permits have increased every year for the past several years, experts say that we are due to see them fall, especially when it comes to apartment buildings. This trend will be seen as former renters become able to buy their own homes.