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).
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Philadelphia Real Estate: Strong Buyers’ Market Persists
Philadelphia Real Estate: #2 Best Performing City of the Decade
