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Philadelphia House Prices Currently Back to 2003 Levels

March 9, 2011 at 2:58 pm · Filed under For Home Buyers, For Home Sellers, Philadelphia Market Conditions

The Philadelphia housing market continued its downward trend this past quarter, as both home sales and prices hit new lows.

This makes it a good time to buy a home in Philly.

Not such a great time to sell unless you are selling and buying another home – you’ll sell low but also buy low.

The Philadelphia housing market continued its downward trend this past quarter, as both home sales and prices hit new lows. The typical Philadelphia home fell in value by an average of 4.2% on a quality and seasonally adjusted basis this past fall, according to the latest data from the City’s Recorder of Deeds.

With this most recent decrease, the average Philadelphia home has now fallen in value by a cumulative total of 15% since the bursting of the national housing bubble several years ago.

The decrease in house prices was citywide, with no area of the City being spared. From largest to smallest, the average decline in house prices by neighborhood were:

West Philadelphia -10.1%
North Philadelphia -9.8%
Kensington/Frankford -8.5%
South Philadelphia -7.3%
Center City / Fairmount -5.4%
University City -3.5%
Upper Northeast Philadelphia -2.7%
Northwest Philadelphia -0.8%

Sales activity news was equally negative:

2,817 homes changed hands in Q4 - 15% decrease from Q3.
33% decrease from the same time last year.

However, even with the latest downbeat numbers, Philadelphia continues to weather the current housing downturn much better than most other major U.S. cities. According to Case-Shiller Macro Markets’ composite house price index, house prices have fallen by an average of 31% in the largest U.S. cities since the bursting of the housing bubble, compared to only 15% in Philadelphia. Currently, only two cities—Dallas and Denver— have experienced smaller total declines in average house values than Philadelphia.

Even with this quarter’s significant price drop, Philadelphia remains in third place of the twenty largest cities in the U.S. for the least house price declines.

Download the report (pdf) and Kevin Gillen’s (urban economist, Enconsult Corporation) commentary (pdf).

Potentially Related Posts:

Philadelphia Real Estate: Strong Buyers’ Market Persists

Philadelphia Real Estate: #2 Best Performing City of the Decade

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Who Were 2010′s Home Buyers and Sellers?

February 25, 2011 at 9:57 am · Filed under For Home Buyers, For Home Sellers

Every year, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) conducts a survey to find out who today’s home buyers and sellers are. This year’s survey asked: Did home buyers use the tax credit? Are they trading up or going with a more modest home? How did buyers search for their home?

NAR surveyed people who participated in a real estate transaction between July 2009 and June 2010. The questions ranged from simple demographics, such as age and marital status, to more in depth questions like discovering the primary reason for purchasing a home and how long buyers expected to be in the home they just purchased.

Interesting Facts from the Report:

In 2010, it took buyers an average of 12 weeks to find a home, which remained the same as in 2009.

57% of people used an agent that was either referred to them or one they had previously worked with.

87% of people would refer their agent or work with them again.

In terms of the tax credit, 93% of first-time buyers and 48% of repeat buyers took advantage of it.

Typically, sellers received 96% of their asking price. Of those that sold, more than half bought a house more expensive than their previous home.

43% of sellers did not reduce their asking price.

36% of all buyers polled looked online for properties for sale.

45% of all buyers walked through a home which they had previously viewed online.

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Philadelphia Real Estate: Strong Buyers’ Market Persists

February 23, 2011 at 1:15 pm · Filed under For Home Buyers, For Home Sellers, Philadelphia Market Conditions

TREND is the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for more than 32,000 real estate professionals in and around the Philadelphia metropolitan region. The report is a compilation of TREND data, government data and NAR (National Association of Realtors) analysis. The home sale statistics come from TREND, while the labor and industry data comes from government sources. All of the analysis is written by NAR economists. Complete 2010, 4th quarter report: Economic and Market Watch Report (pdf).

This information has been reprinted from the Economic and Market Watch Report with permission from TREND.

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How’s the Philadelphia Real Estate Market?

December 31, 2010 at 1:03 pm · Filed under For Home Buyers, For Home Sellers, Philadelphia Market Conditions

Here are this weeks updates on the Philadelphia real estate market for the week of December 27th, 2010. Keep in mind, these numbers will vary depending on the Price Range and the Specific Neighborhood you are buying or selling in.

** Median list price in Philadelphia this week is $199,900

** 1,654 properties have been on the market for an average of 170 days

** Inventory has been lightening lately and the Market Action Index has been trending up

** Though days-on-market is increasing, these are mildly positive indications for the market

Supply & Demand

Home sales have been exceeding new inventory for several weeks. Since this is a Buyer’s market prices are not yet moving higher as excess inventory is consumed. However, as the supply and demand trends continue, the market moves into the Seller’s zone, and we are likely to see upward pressure on pricing.

Median List Price

Average List Price

Asking Price per Square Foot

Average Days on Market

Inventory of Properties Listed

Most Expensive Property Listed

Least Expensive Property Listed

Average Age of Listing

Percent of Properties with Price Decrease

Percent Relisted (reset days on market)

Percent Flip (price increased)

Median House Size (square feet)

Median # of Bedrooms

Median # of Bathrooms

$199,900

$247,558

$130

170

1,654

$6,995,000

$13,900

44%

10%

1,552

3.0

2.0

Market Action Index shows a Strong Buyers’ market with an index of 14.5. The Market Action Index answers the question “How’s the Market?” by measuring the current rate of sale versus the amount of inventory. Index above 30 implies a seller’s advantage. Below 30 conditions give the advantage to the buyer.

If you’d like more in-depth statistics for a specific neighborhood send us an email. we’ll get the results to you within 24 hours.

posted by janice SEARCH the Philadelphia MLS. No Registration Required!

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FHA Mortgages: New Rules Go Into Effect This Month

November 29, 2010 at 10:39 am · Filed under First Time Home Buyers, For Home Buyers, Mortgage

The FHA is becoming more and more important as a source of financing for Americans looking to purchase or refinance a home. The FHA insures mortgages against default and funds this insurance by charging borrowers a variety of mortgage insurance fees.

New rules that went into effect this month adjust the two types of mortgage insurance paid by consumers for loans insured by the FHA.

**The annual insurance premium (MMI) is paid monthly by the borrower. It is now 0.85% to 0.9% of the loan balance, depending on the down payment or equity owned. The previous amount was 0.5% to 0.55%.

**The one-time upfront insurance premium (MIP) that borrowers must pay has been changed to 1% of the loan balance from 2.25%.

The upfront premium is paid in a lump sum at closing or added to the loan balance, unlike the monthly premium, which is paid over the life of the loan in addition to the interest and principal.

Good News, Bad News: Under the new rules borrowers will save money at closing. But those monthly mortgage payments will be a little higher.

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posted by janice SEARCH the Philadelphia MLS. No Registration Required!