Yet another sign of the strength of Philadelphia and Philadelphia real estate. Developers just announced they will be creating a neighborhood changing boutique hotel smack in the middle of Center City at 12th and Chestnut. No doubt this will become the anchor that attracts high end retail, restaurants, and apartment developments. Expect neighboring property values to rise and look forward to a hipper future for Philly! Get the full scoop at The Illdelph.

I would like to introduce you to the American Commerce Center, the building that will mark the beginning of a new stage in Philadelphia’s real estate development. At over 1500 feet, this building at 18th and Arch will be one of the largest buildings in the world, dramatically change Philly’s skyline, and will attract thousands of high-paying jobs the city needs.

I’ll let you read the full details at Philly Sky Line, but let me just say this will be a big boost to the local economy and is a strong sign of the long term value of Philadelphia Real Estate.

Today we launched a new version of our website. It was designed to make it easier to search real estate and find your new home. We hope you like it! Please take a look and send us any thoughts or feedback you have about the new design. We can always be reached at dave (at) phillyliving (dot) com.

www.PhillyLiving.com

When the October report on New Construction came out the news reported that October was the worst month in 16 years for new construction. However buried in the report is some good news for Center City real estate — condo and apartment construction is up 44%!

Why is this important?

New construction rates is a good predictor of the health of the market. If developers feel the market will go up, they will put their money in the market and build. If they think the market is overvalued and will go down, new construction will decrease.

In Center City Philadelphia virtually all new construction in Center City is multi-family, so its the multi-family construction numbers that matter. And with an upward trend of 44% the long term trend looks good!

Money magazine selected Philadelphia, specifically the neighborhood of Washington Square West, as the 14th best place to retire.

The magazine highlighted the historic feel, the proximity to healthcare, and the walk-ability of the neighborhood. We agree!

Currently there over 145 properties available in the Washington Square West area on our website. Check them out online or give us a call and we will help you with your search to find your perfect home.

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(Thanks phillyblog.com).

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While we noticed it back in Q2, its good that the press is beginning to pick up on real estate recovery trend. The article “In the city, widespread increase in median price” notes that the median price for all of Philadelphia has gone from $130,000 to $145,000 and agents are noticing an increase in buyer activity. Of course the median prices in Center City are much higher (and increasing!!!). You can view all the details in our market report, an one-of-a-kind analysis of the Center City real estate market.

We’ve all read stories in the national press about how the real estate bubble has burst, there is a mortgage crisis, and prices are dropping. While this is true in some markets, it is important to remember real estate markets are local. There are areas that will show significant growth and appreciation even while national trends are down.

Two weeks ago we got some hard numbers when we crunched the Q2 results for all of Center City. We found that sales and prices up. (You can see the full Q2 report here.) If you have been waiting for the market to fall further it might be time to rethink that as it looks like the market hit bottom and prices are beginning to rise.

Further evidence Center City’s real estate’s market strength was recently published by the Philly Inquirer. One trend that has been dragging down prices is the subprime mortgage market. Now subprime mortgages aren’t neccessarily bad things, but in certain markets they have been over used and are now defaulting at high rates.  Luckily this is not the case in Philadelphia where the Inquirer reports that Center City has an extremely low subprime mortgage rate of less than 4%. See http://www.philly.com/inquirer/multimedia/The_Subprime_Landscape.html. With low subprime penetration there is low risk of a market decline due to owner defaults.

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2026-2030 Chancellor Street – $550,000 (was $575,000)

This is a spectacular carriage house condominium at one of the best addresses in town. Just a block off the square, you have a completely renovated unit featuring all of the finishes you would expect. Beyond the usual 10-year tax abatement, the developer convinced the city to add another 3 years, for a total of 13 years. Best of all, the unit has a 1-car attached garage.

At about $550/sq.ft., this is one of the best deals in town. The most recent sale on the street (less than one year ago) sold for the same price per square foot and needed to be completely renovated.

As the market is changing, most buyers are starting to negotiate more aggressively. However, the smart ones are still looking at the market to find those gems that just make sense. Quite simply, this condo is one of them.

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