Philadelphia Housing Market Relatively Unscathed By Mortgage Woes

By Richard Barrington
Local Lender Columnist
Aug 3, 2007
While real estate markets nationally struggle with the fallout from subprime mortgage defaults, the Philadelphia housing market has stayed reasonably firm. For home buyers, this may mean that you should not hold out too long waiting for a bargain.

Indeed, since housing prices don't seem to be falling in the Philadelphia area, you may want to content yourself with lower mortgage rates as the only bargain you may be able to find in your new home search.

Philadelphia Housing Snapshot: Foreclosures Low, Prices Firm

Comparing the first three months of 2007 with the corresponding period in 2006 shows that housing prices in Philadelphia actually rose 4%. This average price increase occurred despite a drop in overall sales volume.

Experts cite the Philadelphia market's relatively low exposure to troubled mortgages as a factor in keeping its housing market solid. Philadelphia ranks 67th out of 100 metropolitan areas in mortgage foreclosures, with one foreclosure out of every 366 households. The leading metropolitan area for foreclosures, Detroit, suffered one foreclosure for every 51 households.

Mortgage Rates May Be Your Best Bargain

If housing prices are not yielding many bargains in the Philadelphia area, you may want to look at mortgage rates as the bright side of buying now. Mortgage rates are about half a point lower than they were a year ago. For borrowers, lower mortgage rates have the same effect on overall housing costs as a lower price would, so for now, those lower rates may represent the best bargain available in the Philadelphia area.

Source
Philadelphia Inquirer

About the Author
Richard Barrington is a freelance writer and novelist who previously spent over twenty years as an investment industry executive.