As a record $12 million sale for a Rittenhouse Square condo recently showed, real estate in Center City has held its value for the most part through the Great Recession, with most neighborhoods in fact still gaining about 10 percent since 2004, according to recent statistics provided by Prudential Fox and Roach and Center City District.
The figures show a sort of lopsided umbrella effect on median sales prices for downtown neighborhoods between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, with a crescendo in late 2007 to early 2008. And perhaps surprising to some, median prices are down just seven percent since the market peak two years ago.
“Sales volume might be down and the average time on the market is longer, but the prices are only down about seven percent, and if you go back to 2004, they’re still up,” says Mike McCann of Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors.
Center City District President Paul Levy also said Center City’s housing boom has not gone bust, in part because of the city’s strong infrastructure: the public transit system and growing options for retail and food.
“While challenged by global recession, Center City has capitalized on its dense, compact and walkable form to attract more residents, students and visitors,” Levy noted in his annual State of Center City report released this month.
