Gold (kind of) in Them Hills

This past week, I came across this article in philly.com….

In it, real estate writer for philly.com, Alan Heavens touts Philadelphia as the next Brooklyn and quotes Brooklyn transplant and local realtor, Chris Plant throughout. I wanted to re-post as there are a few things to note for the local real estate investor.

1. Ever since the New York Times termed Philadelphia “the 6th borough” (and probably even before), aging hipsters have been looking for escape routes from New York. With its proximity to NYC and the changing job markets (with respect to ever-improving telecommuting ability) Philadelphia will always be a viable value-proposition for raising a family near an urban center without the insanity of having to do so in NYC. People will come, local real estate will flourish, yada.

2. The following is a caveat for both the potential transplant AND, more importantly (to this writer), the real estate investor hoping to sell a house to said transplant…. DO NOT OVERPAY FOR YOUR HOUSE.  Brooklyn buyers – just because you can purchase a much larger house for a fraction of the price you would pay for a shoe-box of an apartment in Brooklyn doesn’t mean you should (I know because I did this… and it hurt a little).  Investors, you gotta remember this when you go in to buy that shell to flip.  There might seem like a lot of room in a deal because your Brooklyn buyer is thrilled to pay a premium  just to have a 1/2 bath, but you can’t count on that.  They may be coming but the majority of your buyers are still going to be locals.  You make your money when you buy the property.  Make sure you are solid on your due diligence and know what has ACTUALLY TRADED in the last 3-6 months within a 1/4 mile of your target.

At Dalin we can help you determine if you are about to overpay.  Call us today.