Open Houses: 5/28 & 5/31

Twilight Rental Open House - Thursday, May 28th
Society Hill Towers
210 Locust Street
6:15 to 7:15 PM

-Studio, 540 sf, high floor w/ city views $1125
-One bedroom, 700 sf, high floor w/ city views $1450
-Corner one bedroom, 775 sf, high floor w/ southern views $1590
-Two bedroom, one bath, 1200 sf, eastern views towards the river $2350

For Sale Open Houses - Sunday, May 31st

The Dorchester

226 W. Rittenhouse Square

12-12:30 PM

-Three bedroom, 2 bath, balcony overlooking Rittenhouse Square $799,000

1900 Rittenhouse

12:45-1:15 PM

- One bedroom, one bath, upgraded kitchen $575,000

Philadelphia luxury condo project heads to sheriff's sale

Alan Heavens reported in yesterday's Inquirer that CREI's American Loft condominium in Northern Liberties will be going to sheriff's sale. The developer agreed to give the project back to the lender, Abington Bank, which is owed an outstanding balance of $15.1 million. According to the legal notice, the minimum the bank will accept for the property is $15,440,167.

I think that the price of $15 million the lender is asking for is too high. This is the first of many periperal condo jobs that are suffering due to the economy and location. There are just no buyers at their prices (CREI was asking between $329,000 and $1,479,000 for the units at American Loft).

To Buy or Rent, That Is the Question

In today's struggling housing market, incredible opportunities have arisen. So how do you know if you should sit it out and just rent, or take advantage of lower prices and extremely low mortgage rates? According to an article in the May 25th issue of Forbes, you should consider buying vs. renting based on the income local homes generate instead of price forecasts. According to that analyses, Philadelphia's housing future looks a lot brighter than most other major cities. Out of nine major US cities, Philadelphia's cap rate is second highest and the price change over the past 2 years is the smallest.
So as I've been saying for a long time, if you can afford to buy today, this is the time!

Ligne Roset Comes to The Lippincott

Ligne Roset just furnished a bi-level penthouse at The Lippincott that I have for sale. It looks great! I definitely think that furnishing the unit is helpful to understand how to best use the space. Check out the pics:

Here are the details on the unit:

Bi-level 2 bedroom plus den/office, 2.5 bath, custom kitchen with white oak cabinetry, bamboo floors, concrete countertops, Miele cooktop, oven and microwave, Sub Zero with white oak overlay panel, formal living room opens to a large terrace, formal dining room, great room, den/office on second floor opens up to a large terrace, spacious master bedroom with walk in closet and large terrace, master bathroom suite with white oak cabinetry, stone tile floors, concrete vanity, private water closet, guest bedroom with walk in closet and full bath with white oak cabinetry and concrete countertops, laundry room.

2,702 sf $2,500,000

Where Home Prices Crashed Early, Signs of a Rebound

Optimistic article in today's New York Times. The reporter, David Streitfeld, reports from Sacramento, California, one of the first cities to be terrorized by the real estate market. Streitfeld talks about investors and first-time buyers out in force, competing for bargain-price foreclosures. That is typically the first sign of a rebound (or at least bottom) in the market.

He talks about signs of progress in other hard hit cities. Las Vegas' homes sales, for example, were up 35% this March from last month.

As Streitfeld writes, "Hope for housing was on full display in the stock market on Monday. News that pending home sales rose in March instead of falling, coupled with improved construction spending, propelled a strong rally. One broad market average, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, is now in positive territory for the year, after being down 25 percent on March 9."

And in Philadelphia, we have been seeing an increase in investors and even more so first-time homebuyers for awhile now. Another example of how our real estate market was hit a lot less harder than others and is well-positioned to rebound much faster than others.

Open Houses: 5/5 and 5/7

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

6-6:30: Hopkinson House, 604-36 S. Washington Square, #1602

2 br, 1.5 baths, balcony overlooking Rittenhouse Square, update kitchen and baths

$479,900

6:45-7:15: Independence Place, 233 South 6th Street, #508

1 br, 1 bath, lots of light, eat-in-kitchen, excellent closet space

$309,900

7:15-7:45: Independence Place, 241 South 6th Street, #2508 (RENTAL)

3 br, 2.5 bath, PENTHOUSE, wrap-around terrace with panoramic views of the river and city, updated kitchen, jacuzzi in master bath

$4,250/mo.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

6:15-7: Lippincott, 227 South 6th Street

1SE. 2 br + den, 2 bath custom home w/ exposed beams and brick, very high end finishes, hardwood floors throughout

$899,000

CenterPenthouse. Brand new Cecil Baker designed and Ligne Roset decorated bi-level with 2 br, 2.5 baths, den, separate dining room, and large balconies.

$2,500,000