About two-thirds of homes in Philadelphia are more affordable now than they have been historically, making inventory in the City of Brotherly Love more reasonably priced than nearly all of the other cities making up the 10 largest in the U.S., according to a new study.
Seattle-based Zillow Inc. released a report Friday that shows 66.1 percent of homes currently on the market in Philly are affordable based on the percentage of the area’s median household income needed to pay the mortgage on a median-priced home.
“The rental market is really strong and competitive,” said Laurie Murphy, a Realtor with Bershire Hathaway Fox & Roach of Bryn Mawr, who sells homes in the city and surrounding suburbs.
“There are still so many areas untapped in Philly that are in some stage of development,” said Murphy. “A lot of people are realizing buying is a lot more affordable than what they anticipated.”
Currently Philadelphia homeowners are dedicating 14.3 percent of their monthly income to their mortgage compared with the 19.6 percent needed to make the payments between 1985 and 2000, the report shows.
The figures put Philadelphia in line with the housing market across the country, where 66.4 percent of homes are affordable.
Across the U.S., homeowners are spending 15.1 percent of their median income on their housing payments, down from the 22.1 percent spent between 1985 and 2000.
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