City Controller: Philly real estate sales approaching 'pre-recession levels'

The Graduate Hospital and Point Breeze sections of Philadelphia are once again helping to drive the start of the residential real estate season in the city, according to a new report.

In the 19146 ZIP code, which includes both of the South Philly neighborhoods, 94 homes sold in the month of April – a 13 percent jump from the 83 homes that sold in that area in the same month last year, the Office of the City Controller's latest monthly economic report shows.

The sales figures, which are based on data from King of Prussia-based TREND, a multiple listing service, put 19146 as the top ZIP code in the city for home sales.

Throughout Philadelphia, there were 1,293 real estate sales, according to the report, up about 16 percent from the 1,119 sales in April 2015.

“Philadelphia’s real estate boom has almost reached pre-recession levels, providing a significant economic boost for the city," said City Controller Alan Butkovitz. "Not only has the increase in home sales been a reflection of our healthier job market, it has increased city coffers by more than double in Realty Transfer Tax revenues over the last five years."

Three other ZIP codes that cover the rest of South Philadelphia – 19147, 19148 and 19145 – took the next three spots in the rankings, totaling another 184 homes sold for the month of April.

Other parts of the city that had strong interest from homebuyers in April stretch from Fishtown, Port Richmond and parts of Kensington to the Northeast's Fox Chase neighborhood, and also include the northwest section of the city, Roxborough, Manayunk and Wissahickon.

The one area that fell from the top 10 sales by ZIP code list was 19130, which covers the region between the Schuylkill River east to Broad Street, and from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway north to Girard Avenue.

Another noteworthy finding shows the city is slightly ahead in tax revenues for fiscal year 2016 compared with the same time point in the previous fiscal year.

Between July 2015 and April 2016, yearly tax revenues totaled roughly $135 million, a nearly 4 percent increase from the $130 million collected as of April 2015, according to the Office of the City Controller.

Click here to see the full April 2016 economic report from the City Controller's office.

           

Source: Philadelphia Business Journals