When I moved to Philly in early 2011, my love for Philly only grew with getting to know the people and the neighborhoods. I found over time that the love for Philly is strong! Many locals who moved away came back. That’s a trend I see continuing. Young adults once they start families, empty nesters returning to their roots and now with remote work standards, the City of Brotherly LOVE has become a magnet for relocation as well. How Philly rallies together to meet a challenge is one of the hallmarks of true Philly living. If you’re an Eagles fan, you understand! On a more serious note, the incr ..read more

Business and political changes support Rittenhouse Square and neighboring areas such as University City and Logan Square’s future values. Life Sciences Ongoing Development in University City University City’s presence as a leading location for life sciences continues to grow and expand. The Philadelphia Business News Journal published an article this week featuring the growth of lab sciences in University City. For example, Brandywine Trust’s development of a $307M building at 3151 Market Streets is catering to life sciences tenants, part of Schuylkill Yards development. The life sciences in ..read more

Market reports and news articles this week continue the confusion about today’s luxury market. While statistics are facts, how they are interpreted is subject to personal perspectives and varies widely. As they say, how you look at things changes what you look at. September Luxury Market Report – USA and Canada MSA’s While it is contended that we are moving towards a buyer’s market, the data for August 2022 shows conditions in most luxury markets are still favorable for sellers – of the 140 single-family markets showcased in our report, 106 remain seller’s markets. (NOTE: Philadelphia is no ..read more

Want to live like a movie star without paparazzi? Join me at Rittenhouse Square! I love the diversity of architecture and style offered with Rittenhouse Square condos. Everything from pre-war historic details to modern streamlined luxury living, my imagination often fills in the rest of the movie set as we walk through. For instance, whenever I enter 10 Rittenhouse I truly feel like royalty. While all of the Rittenhouse door staff are gracious and professional, there’s just something special about the entry at 10 Rittenhouse. Currently on the market, Unit 1105 features a deck that overlooks Ri ..read more

So many dynamics impact our local market. It’s not entirely fair to point the finger at transplants for driving values higher as noted in this recent article from Philadelphia Business Journal; Out-of-towners are driving up home prices and pricing out locals in Philadelphia with an average maximum budget that’s 39% higher than that of residents, according to a report from Redfin. That’s the largest disparity in the nation. Philadelphia is seeing an influx of residents seeking more affordable home prices from traditionally expensive locations like New York, Washington, D.C., and California. Th ..read more

Unfortunately, this is a question that’s top of mind for buyers I’m working with who are out of the area, especially from New York. The NY Times front page article linked below, amidst other news highlights of crime in Philadelphia, created a heavy impact on our city’s reputation. NY Times article from August 11 – ‘Everybody is Armed’ – as Shootings Soar, Philadelphia is Awash in Guns When I moved to Philly in 2011, I was told it’s a “city of 1,000 neighborhoods.” The city expanded by acquiring townships like Germantown, which retain their names as neighborhoods but are still technically Phi ..read more

Are we actually in a housing recession now? As indicated in the Inman article quoted below, the use of the term “housing recession” has skyrocketed in news sources, as well as Google searches in the past month. This is my challenge with the media. Articles are often written with sound bite, click rate goals vs. clear reporting of factual dynamics. It’s easy to do in our current real estate market because there are multiple, confusing factors at play. As I discussed my recent blog article, comparing market reports to quantum physics, differing perspectives are true – at the same time. To keep ..read more

Inman News highlighted Manhattan’s luxury market this week with an attention grabbing headline: Manhattan’s Luxury Market Sees Worst Week since August 2020 Signed luxury contracts in Manhattan hit a new low during the week ending Aug. 21, according to a report released this week from Olshan Realty Inc. Just eight contracts were signed on properties priced at $4 million or higher, down from 15 contracts that had been signed the week before. The week marked the slowest for luxury real estate activity in the city since the week of Aug. 3-9, 2020. At that time, just six contracts were signed ..read more

In the past two weeks there appears to have been a major shift in the market. I’ve been reporting on the micro-market shifts and vulnerabilities in the economy throughout the COVID crisis. During escalating values and multiple offer dynamics, I definitely started to feel like the kid in “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” ? Related article – Foreclosure tragedy of 2022 However, mainstream media sources who previously denied any risk of foreclosures or market vulnerabilities are now reporting heavily on “bubble” effects, market crashes, etc. Buyers are concerned about market conditions, sellers are ..read more

In our recent hot seller’s market there’s been a trend to require waiving of inspections in competing offer dynamics. An interesting sub-point on this trend is that corporate fund managers buying residential properties as portfolio assets may be the source of this dynamic, as disclosed recently in a Clubhouse discussion. ?? Replay of Clubhouse discussion, fast forward to Leigh Brown’s input (click on icon on bottom with face to skip to speakers). Leigh Brown adds insights on corporate fund manager’s acquisition strategy of above asking price offers, waiving inspections. However tempting that m ..read more