Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

…qualities in a condo for those looking to downsize in Center City:

1) A walkable location to restaurants, the arts, and “things to do”

2) One Level Living

3) Parking

4) A safe neighborhood

5) A guest bedroom and a guest bathroom

Now certainly not all Center City condo buyers looking to downsize in a condo in town are created equal, nor do they all have the same wants and needs. But based upon my 21 years experience selling condos in Center City Philadelphia, I would have to suggest, if pressed, that the above 5 qualities in a condominium are heavily favored by a lot of folks moving to town.
Thinking of a move yourself? What are your priorities?

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

Certainly not all Philly condo buildings are created equal. They may look alike on the surface, but may not resell as well, and maybe be subject to a high number of foreclosures, short-sales, or REO/transferee buyouts.  And how do you tell the difference? Quick Answer- Get a Real Estate professional who knows the ins and outs of the Center City Philadelphia Condo market, and get an expert opinion.
    
In order to make a sound, value-based decision, you need to be concerned with issues such as: Owner-Occupancy ratios, Association finances, Upkeep, Rules and Regulations, and whether or not the building you are considering is even available to be financed. Unless you have a crystal ball in your possession, perhaps you need to ask someone who knows about the Center City condominium market.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

In order to NOT bite off more than you can chew, here are a few beginning steps for the first time buyer.

To begin, you should start by contacting a local mortgage professional, like Jason Griesser from Trident Mortgage. No need to see a variety of, say, Wanamaker House Condos if those condos are not within your budget. I think the next step is for you to do your homework, and get an idea of what $ 400,000 is going to get you in Society Hill, or maybe Old City.

Working with a good website like www.CenterCityCondos.com is a good start. Duh. Then call me, and lets chat about your REAL wants and needs. Lets see if we can keep your hopes and dreams within realistic terms.

No pressure-

Mark Wade
215.521.1523
www.CenterCityCondos.com 
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

…shouldn’t I “call ’em as I see ’em”?
 
Shouldn’t your Philadelphia Realtor have the B*lls to give his honest opinion on condos you are seeing? If a particular condo association has no money in the “Kitty”, and the building is clearly in need of maintenance- from hallways to elevators, I think I would not be doing my job if I didn’t point out (what I believe to be) the obvious.
 
Some condos in town really are pieces of crap. From condo associations’ finances, to building construction, to owner-occupancy ratios, to staff, future saleability, to perhaps better, easily identified comparable condos in Philadelphia.
 
My Point- If you are my customer, and you give me the green light, I am going to tell you what I believe are each condo’s strengths and weaknesses. And I will try to keep the snarky comments to myself- but no promises :-).

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

A buyer of mine sent me this link, www.RayDoor.com, and I think it is really groovy! And a great idea for many Old City condo lofts which have exceedingly large living rooms. By adding another bedroom area, and still keeping the light coming into your living room, you could quickly and easily add value.

And the look is very hip and perfectly positioned for some of the neat Old City condos that Center City has available! See more at www.RayDoor.com.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

We hear all kinds of national news stories about the country’s current real estate market. Below is a simple breakdown of the number of showings that have taken place at Prudential Fox and Roach’s Center City Philadelphia Listings over the past 9 months. The figures are broken down by price ranges. There does not appear to be a lack of folks looking to buy and as usual, very early spring seems to produce the most Center City Condo buyers with traffic slowing mid-summer as many people leave for vacations.   

Leave a comment, or shoot me an email at Mark@CenterCity.com. I’d live to hear your thoughts on this “inside” Center City Real Estate report. Spring Market 2011 is just around the corner!

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

…Have Sh*tty Resale Prices- If they sell at all.

 
Come on, you would have to be from the moon to believe all condo buildings here in Center City are created equal in terms of
demand, cache, and resale ability (in terms of price and “days on market”). There are some buildings in downtown Philly that just really suck, in terms of their investment value. And there are a handful of buildings that basically cannot resale at all.
 
Some of the signs to be aware of-
 
1) A lot of units on the market, and very few sold in the past 12 months
2) A high number of REO’s/Foreclosures/Short Sales
3) A low owner-occupancy ratio in the building
4) Poorly managed exterior and common area condition
 
Unless you are buying a short sale or a foreclosure in the building, or are in the mood to just piss your money away, I would suggest we talk prior to you buying in certain buildings.. Some Center City condominium buildings aren’t worth a look, much less an offer.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

I am at a standoff between a buyer and a seller on a particular condo in Center City.

This is routine. What makes this an interesting case is that after 5 days of initial offer presentation, the seller is at (say) $815k, after some price reductions, and negotiating…and the buyer is stuck at $810k, after a few counter offers.

So who is going to budge?

If I pester the other agent to hammer his or her buyer to take my seller’s offer of $815k…does that not show a sign of weakness?  I think it does. It is a game of chicken at this point, and the first party to flinch, or show weakness in the negotiating process by being too impatient, may well indeed be the loser and may have to cave to make up the $5,000 difference in this case.
 
I am advising my seller to sit tight, and put on their best poker face.
 
We will see….stay tuned.
 
Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

1) Locust Point

2) 815 Arch St

3) Naval Square

4) York Square

5) The National at Old City

Based upon the fact that these buildings are sold out, (or in the case of Naval Square which continues to add new buildings as demand dictates), I would suggest that these five Philly condo buildings have fared the best in Center City since the onslaught of new construction in Philadelphia started taking shape. There are also a handful of buildings that have just a few remaining units left- Ayer, Symphony House, and Western Union Building to name a few. And of course, there are buildings here in Center City in which a small fraction of sales have happened, even after a four to five year marketing period. We won’t mention those pieces here.

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106

1) Why no…the elevator runs on magic pixie dust…it doesn’t need electricity to operate.

2) Of course not…the doorman here works for free.

3) Not in this building….the hallways, windows, and lobby magically clean themselves.

…it is a miracle of course, but that is how things happen at this Philadelphia Condominium.

If there are common elements (the definition of a condo) then they have to be maintained by the members of the condo association. If your condo makes up say 2% of the building, then you are responsible for 2% of the cost to run the building. Plain and simple! 🙂

Mark Wade
www.CenterCityCondos.com
Prudential Fox and Roach REALTORS®
530 Walnut St., Suite 260 Philadelphia, PA 19106