Global Green USA

I am heading up to ny today for a Global Green USA meet and greet with the President of Global Green and to meet with the President of Coldwell Banker Previews NY. Hob Nobbing pretty heavily, right? Why? Well, I am trying to start a Philadelphia chapter of Global Green. Read about it... its a great charity:

I am meeting with Coldwell Banker Previews because Philadelphia is a darn yummy real estate market for investors. Tomorrow am we have a conference call with some investors from the Middle East. Excited stuff... I love to see investment in my home town!

The business is heating up! Not every seller is completely motivated to a fire sale price... but a lot are! 1 of every 6 home owners nationwide is under water in their mortgage. This means these people owe more than their home is currently worth. This means that if they want to sell, they are in a short sale situation selling below the mortgage amount they owe the bank. Now this isn't the case with most Philadelphia real estate but it is with some! I have recently had some Buyers find some real bargains. We can never tell the Seller's motivation based on an MLS sheet. However, putting an offer out there... often results in great bargains. Look, people need to sell... some more than others. These days, with the tax credit for people earning $75k or less, $150k for a couple, and amazing interest rates, it's idiotic not to buy! Refinancing is a hugely intelligent move as well. I'll detail these things soon but I just wanted to put the birdy in your ears. Reach out to me, nigel@cbpref.com if you think you 'might' wanna buy now. Its a wise move! If you need to sell, we need to market your property very carefully and very well. Polished products priced well are still selling... quickly even.

Union Trust Steak House

A Sunday Funday thru historic Philadelphia and the Italian Market

The Philadelphia Zoning Process of Building in Philly

Philadelphia Sales Stats

I compiled a bunch of statistics for the Center City District of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Business Journal. Yes, I'm a nerd. Here are some interesting figures for ya. Below is a chart of 9 zip codes. On this chart I show the percentage changes in Units Sold, Days On Market, Original List Prices, and Sold Prices.

Three Year Performance, 2006-2008
Units Sold/D.O.M./Orig List/Sold Price/Current Inv Accumulation
19102 39.53% 16.07% -15.29% -20.13% 10
19103 18.18% 27.71% -19.44% -18.64% 10
19106 0.46% 12.50% 5.59% 2.95% 16
19107 -7.48% -1.03% 14.54% 14.16% 13
19123 -75.00% -14.66% -7.34% -11.48% 24
19130 -32.83% -6.02% 2.42% -0.04% 7
19146 -18.00% 28.57% 12.91% 10.27% 10
19147 -27.33% 31.08% -3.77% -6.20% 10
19125 -31.49% 0.00% 10.32% 9.02% 9

Take note of a few things on here. The units sold is down, almost everywhere... as much as 75%! On average, about 35% since 2006. This we know from watching tv, right? The sales prices in the individual zip codes range from down 20% to up 10%! See?! Philadelphia is a relatively healthy market compared to many others in this country right now... and now you can even see by neighborhood.
South Philly (19146) and Fishtown (19125) are the healthiest while center city (19103) got crushed the most! VERY INTERESTING!

The Bike Ride to the Office

The trip to the office is a scenic one and there is plenty to talk about and check out, as shown on this video. Take a gander!