Image courtesy of KiraWeinstein.com

If you have ever tried to drive from Northern Liberties to Fairmount in Philadelphia, you know that the streets just north of City Hall can be busy. What’s up, Spring Garden! When I have to make that particular journey, I take Callowhill St from N 2nd St to N 20th St.

It’s an easy cut-through, you should try it sometime.

On my way to Fairmount, I always get caught at the traffic light at N Broad St & Callowhill St; it’s almost inevitable. If you know this intersection, then you already know that there are 2 parking lots on the southeast and southwest corners. Not parking garages, surface parking lots. This puts you about 1/2 mile north of City Hall in Center City, Philadelphia.

In 2015, those 2 lots are prime real estate. Believe it.

North Broad St has come into its own over the past few years, meaning that developers are finally starting to consider large anchor projects along the northern stretch of this famed Philadelphia boulevard. This is in part due to the resurgence of neighborhoods like Fairmount and Northern Liberties, as well as all of the new development now surrounding Temple University.

I’ve blogged about other North Broad developments over the past few years. Here, here, here, and here. Today, I am sharing another exciting article about North Broad development … here.

There is a lot going on in Philadelphia these days. Some say it’s just the start of something great (I typically fall within that crowd), and others believe it’s the beginning of the next real estate bubble (I can see some logic on that side as well).

As for me, I tend to look at real estate in 2 very simple ways: 1) Renting, and 2) Buying. If you do not buy real estate, you are a renter; unless you happen to have a super-cool family that supports your housing needs, and you in turn are okay with that arrangement for the rest of your life. But if you do not rent real estate, you are a buyer.

“Renting” and “Buying” both relate to the theory of supply/demand in real estate. When renting is up, buying is down; and vice versa.

That’s why renting has become so expensive over the past few years. Buying was slow following 2008, and remained slow for the years that followed. Rentals have been performing well since 2008, and this is what has caused rental rates to rise in Philadelphia. But buying has become a more viable opportunity today, and the momentum is now shifting.

Because I personally look at all markets as “Rent vs. Buy,” it’s easy to make correlations on how a certain city and/or metro area is performing.

In 2015, many markets offer buying opportunities that are less expensive than their rental counterparts. But now that most US metro areas are considered “Sellers’ Markets,” with some metro areas already being sellers’ markets for some time now, that may be changing sooner than we all want to believe.

In Philadelphia, renting is not cheap in 2015. Especially if you want to rent a home/apartment that is brand new. Popular neighborhoods in Center City and University City still remain expensive (think Rittenhouse, Old City, UPenn/Drexel area, etc), and popular neighborhoods in other parts of Philadelphia are not cheap either (think No Libs/Fishtown, Fairmount, Manayunk/Roxborough, etc).

But … while Philadelphia currently has many expensive homes for sale, there are still many reasonably priced opportunities to be had as well; and they might just be right down the street from where you want to live!

North Broad is having a moment, and good things are happening around projects like this one.