Analytics built by: Location, Inc.
Raw data sources: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Methodology: NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data
With 1,584,064 people, 601,337 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $206,461, Philadelphia real estate and house prices are near the national average for all cities and towns.
Row houses and other attached homes are the single most common housing type in Philadelphia, accounting for 58.40% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Philadelphia include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 19.02%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 14.26%), and a few single-family detached homes ( 8.06%). Cities with mostly row houses, apartments, and other high density housing types are relatively uncommon, and characteristic of compact cities that frequently have a downtown or other neighborhoods where amenities are within walking distance and a lot of street life can be seen.
The most prevalent building size and type in Philadelphia are three and four bedroom dwellings, chiefly found in row houses and other attached homes. The city has a mixture of owners and renters, with 51.41% owning and 48.59% renting.
The housing in Philadelphia was primarily built before 1939 ( 41.66%), making the housing stock in Philadelphia some of the oldest overall in America, although there is a range of ages of homes in Philadelphia. The next most important housing age is between 1940-1969 ( 38.58%), followed by between 1970-1999 ( 14.02%). There's also some housing in Philadelphia built between 2000 and later ( 5.75%).
Vacant housing appears to be an issue in Philadelphia. Fully 12.34% of the housing stock is classified as vacant. Left unchecked, vacant Philadelphia homes and apartments can be a drag on the real estate market, holding Philadelphia real estate prices below levels they could achieve if vacant housing was absorbed into the market and became occupied. Housing vacancy rates are a useful measure to consider, along with other things, if you are a home buyer or a real estate investor.
Appreciation rates for homes in Philadelphia have been tracking above average for the last ten years, according to NeighborhoodScout data. The cumulative appreciation rate over the ten years has been 62.72%, which ranks in the top 30% nationwide. This equates to an annual average Philadelphia house appreciation rate of 4.99%.
Appreciation rates are so strong in Philadelphia that despite a nationwide downturn in the housing market, Philadelphia real estate has continued to appreciate in value faster than most communities. Looking at just the latest twelve months, Philadelphia appreciation rates continue to be some of the highest in America, at 11.15%, which is higher than appreciation rates in 77.72% of the cities and towns in the nation. Based on the last twelve months, short-term real estate investors have found good fortune in Philadelphia. Philadelphia appreciation rates in the latest quarter were at 3.52%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 14.83%.
Importantly, this makes Philadelphia one of the highest appreciating communities in the nation for the latest quarter, and may signal the city's near-future real estate investment strength.
Relative to Pennsylvania, our data show that Philadelphia's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 80% of the other cities and towns in Pennsylvania.
One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Philadelphia differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Philadelphia - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 2000, to assist you in making the best Philadelphia real estate investment or home purchase decisions.
Average for Nation
High for PA