The Philly Pretzel

Get the real story about the Philly real estate market.

The spring home selling season is usually under way by Super Bowl Sunday, but it got a late start this year between the weather and the economy. This wait and the fear of rising interest rates seem to have released the pent-up demand among buyers who have been out in droves lately. We should start to see the back-log of inventory decline for well- priced house that are updated to today’s standards. Buyers’ expectations are also greater. Buyers in today’s market are a lot less willing to commit to homes that need work.

SELLERS: Pricing your Philadelphia home correctly from the beginning is vital. However the spring market may present a new opportunity to aggressive re-price and move a floundering property.

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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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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.

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.

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.

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