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June 16, 2015

A very cool shot of 4 Center City condo buildings

Filed under: Center City Real Estate,For Buyers,For Sellers,General Real Estate — Center City Philadelphia Real Estate Agent @ 2:31 pm
In the foreground on the left is 1706 Rittenhouse Sq.
In the foreground on the right is 250 S. 17th St.
The red building in the center is 250 S. 18th St.
Background on the right is the Barclay at 237 S. 18th St.
(taken from the 12th floor of the old medical arts tower- looking west down the 17xx block of Rittenhouse)
And here is some good food for thought…
If Location, location, location is the sole driving force of value then how can these four condo buildings each have distinct demand as well as pricing?
Certainly a building’s reputation and cache have something to do with pricing….

 

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March 9, 2015

Condo ONLY Sales And Inventory Data

Filed under: Center City Real Estate,General Real Estate,Real Estate: Condominiums — Center City Philadelphia Real Estate Agent @ 8:54 am
(When I have nothing better to do, I like to run through all MLS data…)
19102 – Broad to 16th Streets
Number Of Active Condos For Sale = 41
Number Of “Pending” Condos = 8
Number of Sold Condos in Past 12 Months = 72
19103- Rittenhouse/Fitler/Logan Circle
Number Of Active Condos For Sale = 89
Number Of “Pending” Condos = 31
Number of Sold Condos in Past 12 Months = 244
19106- Old City/Society Hill
Number Of Active Condos For Sale = 103
Number Of “Pending” Condos = 30
Number of Sold Condos in Past 12 Months = 160
19107 Washington Square West
Number Of Active Condos For Sale = 48
Number Of “Pending” Condos = 8
Number of Sold Condos in Past 12 Months = 97
19130 Art Museum Area
Number Of Active Condos For Sale = 82
Number Of “Pending” Condos = 30
Number of Sold Condos in Past 12 Months = 187
19146 Graduate Hospital Area
Number Of Active Condos For Sale = 40
Number Of “Pending” Condos = 10
Number of Sold Condos in Past 12 Months = 88
19147 Queen Village/Bella Vista
Number Of Active Condos For Sale = 67
Number Of “Pending” Condos = 19
Number of Sold Condos in Past 12 Months = 85
So just what the heck does this all mean?
Pretty simple equation- shrinking inventory coupled with growing buyer demand means that condos are selling for much closer to asking price than a year ago, they are selling faster, and there are fewer options.
AND…the spring market will “officially” be here in a week or two- When we hit our first 60 degree day, the buyers will come out in full force.
This scenario is playing out all over town- be it in the condo or the single
family segment.
Prices are going up. 
Period.
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December 21, 2010

Some Philly Condos Appreciate and some Depriciate

Filed under: Center City Real Estate,For Buyers,For Sellers,Real Estate: Condominiums — Center City Philadelphia Real Estate Agent @ 11:33 am

Not all fluctuations in value have a direct correlation to one particular quality of any given Philadelphia condominium. Rather, a Philadelphia condominium’s value, and the rate of change therein, is really a product of a host of factors.

Obvious factors are the showing ability and the condo’s emotion: cleanliness, natural light, wall color, furniture, even the smell of a condo can add or subtract from the emotional beauty, and leads to a huge impact on a condos value. In my twenty-one years of selling real estate, I have never had a buyer tell me to find him the dirtiest, or the worst decorated condo available. Interior condition can also have a major impact on value. Beige bathtubs and appliances can crimp value fairly quickly in a lot of cases.  And of course the physical characteristics of any given unit can help or hurt the units value (think- huge closets, a tax abatement, high ceilings,etc). Styles, like appliances and carpeting have a tendency to age, and that is usually accompanied by a slower rate of appreciation. Clearly, more recently rehabbed, say, Rittenhouse Square condos are going to retain their value better than a unit in a state of disrepair.

33 N 3rd Street-9 33 N 3rd Street-6

Location is a huge factor to the rate of either appreciation or depreciation too. Stronger locations in town have a tendency to be a bit more elastic- they are the first neighborhoods to see a drop in inventory with any influx of buyers to the market. That’s a good thing. Recall the principles of supply and demand. I would argue that a strong location is going to depreciate less -because IF in a weakened marketplace, the first condos to remain unsold are in the weaker locations. (The flip side is that you might be able to strike a significantly improved deal, should you be looking away from an “A” location.)

RittenhouseSquare wash square 3

I am just brushing the surface here, but know that not all condos in town will appreciate or depreciate at the same rate. Or sell within the same given time frame. The best tools you have to insure your value remains intact is twofold:

1) Buy it at the right price in the first place and/or

2) Keep your unit looking like it just jumped off the pages of Town and Country Magazine.

Easier said than done, I am aware!

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

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August 19, 2010

Divide up your Old City Loft Space….but keep the light!

Filed under: Center City Real Estate,Of Interest to Buyers,Of Interest To Sellers,Real Estate: Condominiums — Center City Philadelphia Real Estate Agent @ 10:16 am

A buyer of mine sent me this link, www.RayDoor.com, and I think it is really groovy! And a great idea for many Old City condo lofts which have exceedingly large living rooms. By adding another bedroom area, and still keeping the light coming into your living room, you could quickly and easily add value.

raydoor raydoor 2 raydoor3 raydoor4

And the look is very hip and perfectly positioned for some of the neat Old City condos that Center City has available! See more at www.RayDoor.com.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

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August 12, 2010

An Insider’s Look Into The Center City Condo Activity

Filed under: Center City Real Estate,General Real Estate,Of Interest to Buyers,Of Interest To Sellers,Real Estate: Condominiums — Center City Philadelphia Real Estate Agent @ 1:30 pm

We hear all kinds of national news stories about the country’s current real estate market. Below is a simple breakdown of the number of showings that have taken place at Prudential Fox and Roach’s Center City Philadelphia Listings over the past 9 months. The figures are broken down by price ranges. There does not appear to be a lack of folks looking to buy and as usual, very early spring seems to produce the most Center City Condo buyers with traffic slowing mid-summer as many people leave for vacations.   

eshow

Leave a comment, or shoot me an email at Mark@CenterCity.com. I’d live to hear your thoughts on this “inside” Center City Real Estate report. Spring Market 2011 is just around the corner!

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

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August 5, 2010

Sh*tty Philadelphia Condo Buildings

Filed under: Center City Real Estate,General Real Estate,Of Interest to Buyers,Real Estate: Condominiums — Center City Philadelphia Real Estate Agent @ 2:17 pm

…Have Sh*tty Resale Prices- If they sell at all.

 
Come on, you would have to be from the moon to believe all condo buildings here in Center City are created equal in terms of
demand, cache, and resale ability (in terms of price and “days on market”). There are some buildings in downtown Philly that just really suck, in terms of their investment value. And there are a handful of buildings that basically cannot resale at all.
 
Some of the signs to be aware of-
 
1) A lot of units on the market, and very few sold in the past 12 months
2) A high number of REO’s/Foreclosures/Short Sales
3) A low owner-occupancy ratio in the building
4) Poorly managed exterior and common area condition
 
Unless you are buying a short sale or a foreclosure in the building, or are in the mood to just piss your money away, I would suggest we talk prior to you buying in certain buildings.. Some Center City condominium buildings aren’t worth a look, much less an offer.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

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July 29, 2010

The First to Flinch, loses

Filed under: General Real Estate,Of Interest to Buyers,Of Interest To Sellers — Center City Philadelphia Real Estate Agent @ 1:07 pm

I am at a standoff between a buyer and a seller on a particular condo in Center City.

This is routine. What makes this an interesting case is that after 5 days of initial offer presentation, the seller is at (say) $815k, after some price reductions, and negotiating…and the buyer is stuck at $810k, after a few counter offers.

So who is going to budge?

If I pester the other agent to hammer his or her buyer to take my seller’s offer of $815k…does that not show a sign of weakness?  I think it does. It is a game of chicken at this point, and the first party to flinch, or show weakness in the negotiating process by being too impatient, may well indeed be the loser and may have to cave to make up the $5,000 difference in this case.
 
I am advising my seller to sit tight, and put on their best poker face.
 
We will see….stay tuned.
 
Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

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July 27, 2010

Five best selling new construction condo buildings in Center City

Filed under: Center City Real Estate,Of Interest to Buyers,Real Estate: Condominiums — Center City Philadelphia Real Estate Agent @ 1:19 pm

1) Locust Point

2) 815 Arch St

3) Naval Square

4) York Square

5) The National at Old City

Based upon the fact that these buildings are sold out, (or in the case of Naval Square which continues to add new buildings as demand dictates), I would suggest that these five Philly condo buildings have fared the best in Center City since the onslaught of new construction in Philadelphia started taking shape. There are also a handful of buildings that have just a few remaining units left- Ayer, Symphony House, and Western Union Building to name a few. And of course, there are buildings here in Center City in which a small fraction of sales have happened, even after a four to five year marketing period. We won’t mention those pieces here.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

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July 23, 2010

Top 3 Snarky answers to the question: Do I have to pay condo fees?

Filed under: Center City Real Estate,Of Interest to Buyers,Real Estate: Condominiums — Center City Philadelphia Real Estate Agent @ 9:01 am

1) Why no…the elevator runs on magic pixie dust…it doesn’t need electricity to operate.

2) Of course not…the doorman here works for free.

3) Not in this building….the hallways, windows, and lobby magically clean themselves.

…it is a miracle of course, but that is how things happen at this Philadelphia Condominium.

If there are common elements (the definition of a condo) then they have to be maintained by the members of the condo association. If your condo makes up say 2% of the building, then you are responsible for 2% of the cost to run the building. Plain and simple! 🙂

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

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July 16, 2010

Times Have Changed

Filed under: Center City Real Estate,Real Estate: Condominiums — Center City Philadelphia Real Estate Agent @ 2:45 pm

Giant Soaking Tubs, Formal Dining Rooms, and Bidets…All left Center City a while ago.

Real Estate advertising in the late 1980’s in Center City went like this:
Secure condo with wall to wall plush sculptured carpeting,  Corian counter-tops, and mirrored closet doors north of Society Hill.  Whirlpool bath soaking tub (Maroon color), bidet, and formal dining room.  Just FABULOUS!  Asking $199,000
 
Today’s Center City Condo Real Estate Ads read:
Stainless and Granite kitchen, tumbled marble back-splash, Walk-in Shower, Open Liv/Din room combo- Fab Loft style in Old City With Exposed brick, Sub-Zero and Viking appliances- $599,000
000_2176

 
Personally, I don’t remember the “good ol’ days” in many Philadelphia condominiums. A whole lot of them were builder grade crap. Buyers are certainly expecting more these days in terms of interior improvements, and sometimes the best applicable adage is that of Condition, Condition, Condition.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

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