Got money to invest in real estate? Here's the hot sections of Philadelphia that people are searching for on Trulia.com, a web site devoted to real estate. Neighborhoods with large discrepancies between what the average home lists and sells for are noted.
Comments (49)
Maybe those tax-abated places downtown and your Northern Liberties (proximity to center city AND north Philly drug trade = a hipster's jackpot) are attractive to young folks, but Overbrook and the Northeast are certainly not.— Ino_Karate- The former is a once-great neighborhood where, today, kids are killed in stash house shoot-outs. The latter was never all that remarkable to begin with and today has almost nothing to recommend it. Mostly PWT patting one another on the back for keeping the neighborhoods homogenous, meanwhile they're really just drugs- and Section 8-ravaged and the vast majority of people you might want to live alongside are long gone. A Trader Joe's would have about as much chance of thriving in the NE as a book club.— Ino_Karate
- ****Philly is just packed with young educated people right now -- just visit Trader Joe's on a Sunday.****
I'm not sure what's funnier, your presumption or the "evidence" used to support it. If you think neighborhoods like Overbrook and Northeast Philadelphia are teeming with educated folk bent on improving the city, you are sorely mistaken.— Ino_Karate - Yes the developers are building residential units....but PAY ATTENTION. Most that were supposed to be condos ARE NOW RENTAL UNITS because they couldn't sell them....see 17th and Arch, see 3 of the biggest renos near the Kimmel Center, and then check out many of the rehabs of single family homes esp near GradHosp, CCEast and South, etc., many of which are now rentals. developers and investors are indeed buying and renovating MOSTLY FOR RENTALS and they have 10 year tax abatements thanks to the city, so you foll=ks who buy are picking up their slack.— intelliwoman
- If any of you want to live in this craphole so be it. Send your kids to disgusting schools, wait for the cops to show up when you get mugged and see what happens (unless you are a rich MD in center City) pay the most exorbitant wage and business taxes, socialize with the adults that have a 57% illiteracy rate, hang out with the #1 rude and ignorant folks, walk the filthy disgusting streets, try out the overpriced, filthy and unavailable public transit, and eat at restaurants that haven't been inspected for years (unless you count the payoff). Good luck— intelliwoman
- The winning formula for a good real estate investment has been obvious for decades. Buy where there are no blacks or where they're being displaced. It's as simple as that.— barcadefire
- Careful comparing Philly to DC where two income family bureaucrats can afford 800k for lodging. That DINC couple needs to make 300k minimum. Those numbers don't work too often in Philly. The real deals are in Atlanta or Houston where housing is selling below construction cost and the population and the economies are actually growing.— oldcheme
- I remember in 1981 my parents sold their house in Ne Philly for 27k. Housing prices are out of control because the houses in that neighborhood now- 30 yrs later- are listed over 150k. Average rate of inflation since 1913 has been 3.24% per year so those houses should be under 75k today. Just saying.— Fly Guy
- Kensington is a great market to invest. Please name one other place in America where you can buy a house for 25k and rent it to sec 8 for 850 bucks a month where the tenant gets free rent forever and never leaves.— ian
- i believe from the map that Kensington could be Fishtown/Olde Richmond around York and Aramingo....I could be wrong, but that is what it looks like to me.— ma111re
- NORTHEAST PHILLY? Yeah right. Been up there lately? Not ALL PARTS.— phillygtown
- Here we go again. We have to listen to all of the smart people who claim that they got a hell of a steal. You fools who just bought are the first ones to scream at Mayor Nutter. Dont raise my property taxes mayor. I just bought a house for $300,000 in the Hood. In 20 years it will be worth $300,500. Better yet maybe the city can give you clowns a modification so that P H A can take it over.— Miami Ed
- This article is a sarcastic joke, right?— Sportyrider71
- I'm surprised Northeast Philly is #2, I feel like Point Breeze would be a better investment looking into the future.— NortheastManic
- I am sorry but there is no way you can convince me that Northeast Philly and Kensington are better "investments" than Center City around the Art Museum or Rittenhouse Square. Not buying it... pun intended.— The Moose is Loose
- What a joke. Where was Art Museum / Fairmount and Northern liberties. How about passyunk Square or Fishtown. Anyone who would invest in Kensington or Overbrook will get what they deserve a big fat cheesesteak sized headache!!!— mjkfisher
- If you look at long term trends, Philadelphia is a screaming deal but it won't be for long. It's the last great city in America where a young person can still buy a house. Manhattan, San Francisco, LA are long gone. DC is crazy. Brooklyn, Boston are just about unaffordable. Chicago is still affordable in rough neighborhoods. Only Philadelphia is still affordable in really prime walkable locations. Fairmount, to just pick one example -- you can still pick up small two story row houses under $300k. Comparable locations in DC would be $800 and up. Philly is just packed with young educated people right now -- just visit Trader Joe's on a Sunday. As those people get a little older they will buy houses and prices will skyrocket -- just like they have in all the other great cities.— tomB
- Right, and as soon as they have kids they are outta here. Calling Philly a great American City.... you are delusional. Chicago, NY, San Francisco, even Boston, yes. Philadelphia? Its a poor third world suburb to the other great cities in the Northeast corridor. — intelliwoman
- It seems weird to compare the last 3 months to the final week of the last 3 months. I don't understand what that shows. Otherwise, the city is growing in population and income, the restaurant scene continues to grow, construction is everywhere, neighborhoods are being cleaned up, developers are investing, information is becoming more available, ideas are being exchanged more readily among public and private sectors, zoning apears to be more comprehensive, and public agencies appear to be "cleaning house" (i.e. public housing, sherrif's office, courts, police).— T
- I love Philadelphia but your investment will be sucked in by city council and come out the other end in DROP payments, pensions for city employees, and benefits. Your tax will be taxed in Philly.— misterpond
- That's NOT Kensington...it's Fishtown!— mom2five
- What makes anybody think prices in the Northeast will rebound turning today's cheap properties into profits? Rising crime, lack of industry or jobs, lack of community engagement, strong presence of drug sales and addiction, poor-performing schools, high taxes, etc are strong indicators that home prices will not rebound. A few inflated claims from some fly-by-night real estate website wouldn't be enough to convince even the most daring investor. Unless it's unscrupulous long-time owners selling their homes to Section 8 landlords, there's absolutely zero "investment" in real estate coming to Northeast Philadelphia.— Ino_Karate
- Another example that there should be some sort of minimum test before people post on here. Why do you think that developers keep building residential units? Just for fun? It's because they're selling. I think that some of these folks must be so hateful that they just want to urinate on anything slightly pro-Philadlephia.— StopCorruptionPhilly
- Fishtown and South Kensington are propping up the price of Kensington as a whole.— ConverseB24
- I agree kdubs. It should be listed as Fishtown, not Kensington. Some of the Fishtown revitalization and development is spilling over to far south-eastern Kensington (Olde Kensington) and that is it. I can't imagine a good investment across the street from Needle Park or Fairhill.— barcadefire
- I moved out of #2 eighteen years ago.....smartest thing I ever did....— Bigbirch
- Before you invest, ask yourself this, do you trust Michael Nutter and City Council to do all they can before they raise your taxes?
philly.com is easily the WORST run media site on the internet! I paid $20 last week to start a new subscription and I still can't post a comment under the legal account. So now I just post under The Monk for nothing and I'll cancel my paid subscription - thank you George Norcross.— The Monk- I have to agree with many posters here that these house values bear no relationship to reality. I live in Roxborough and my place has lost about $20K in value since Nutter was elected and raised r/e taxes during the worst recession since 1929.— The Monk
- Looks like a lot of people were really scared off by the last housing bubble. I guess it all isnt the banksters fault when it goes bust.— tr88
- The zip code of the area gives much more accurate real estate sales picture. Naming an area is elusive.— Pugh
- What is it funny to invest in Philly Ricciaje ? I know people who will retire 15 years earlier than they should because of invest in real estate in philly . People are moving back— kdubs71
- chrisartur It should say Fishtown NOT KENSINGTON . Fishtown is blowing up .— kdubs71
- I have worked in Kensington for the past 7 years. East Kensington is definitely on the rise. West Kensington is another story.— Tony A.
- This comment has been deleted.— johndallasbowerzbarn
- kelpfraudfreakmarket = better name the dipsy doodle. — kumpleks
- Invest in Philly? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!— ricciaje
- Enjoy trolling from your mom's basement in the suburbs. — phillis82
- Do you understand what an investment is? Buy lower than you sell, appreciation of the asset over a period of time. — phil80
- A quarter of a mil. in Kensington? No way gentrification has reached that far north - at least not yet. It's slowly making it's way up from NoLibs and Fishtown but there are way too many dilapidated buildings, abandonded warehouses, drug dealers, and general filth for it to be realistically (at least in the short term) considered "up and coming". There are some nice rehabs, and decent blocks, but putting out that kind of money is a big leap of faith, to say the least! Point Breeze is closer to Center City and it seems like there is a lot more investment going on there even though the crime, drugs, and decay are a bit more endemic.— canudigit?
- Publishing this should be libel. Instead they should be doing a story about what a complete joke and flat out damage websites like Trulia and Zillow do to homeowners. Maybe it works in a townhouse community, but not a city of diverse propoerties. Yeah sure, Center City real estate prices dropped 70% in a year. Roxborough down 50%. I mean seriously. This should not be published. And no, I am not a realtor, just not an idiot.— Freddy
- thanks. Roxborough actually enjoyed relatively stable home prices throughout the recession/downturn. Older homes may have lost $25,000-$35,000 in value but that is only 15% or less. The worst I've seen in my neighborhood was a 20% drop ($50,000) from pre-recession to now on identical homes. That is certainly not 50%. New homes, which really do sell at $370,000 - $500,000 skew the average up a bit but also help raise the value of older homes — kumpleks
- Uh, it is Philly. I would suggest keeping both your money and body far clear of the city limits. Both will get abused inside of that city.— kelprod2-freemarket
- We don't want scum like you here either. The city is much better off without your presence.
— daxtremesolja 
this is some crazy list...— Heckler- Why would anyone invest in this city? You would do better going to AC and put it all on black— blombard
- But I bet you support Philly sports, freaking hypocrite. You don't have any loyalty to this city, so take off that jersey you punk.
— phil80 - Before posting know what you are talking about . Real estate in philly is a great investment . — kdubs71
- Kensington probably has an average sales price of $25,000 not $256,000.— chrisartur
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