Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As for Society Hill vs. Beacon Hill, i'm not aggregating data and doing a median p/sq ft vs. p/sq ft. But here are two examples that show the delta. Same Sq.Ft, but this Beacon Hill property has 3 bedrooms instead of 6:
As for Society Hill vs. Beacon Hill, i'm not aggregating data and doing a median p/sq ft vs. p/sq ft. But here are two examples that show the delta. Same Sq.Ft, but this Beacon Hill property has 3 bedrooms instead of 6:
"The median list price per square foot in Society Hill is $432, which is higher than the Philadelphia average of $138."
"The median list price per square foot in Beacon Hill is $1,269, which is higher than the Boston average of $681."
So 200% is actually a really good number (surprisingly). It's likely that neither of these neighborhoods are the most expensive in their respective cities, but I think they are held in the same high regard, so it's a good comparison.
Not sure why this is a contest, as it's a strong suit of Philadelphia's, but nonetheless, here are some other listings that should speak to my point yet again:
Yeah, there's really no contest here as to highest real estate costs, even on comparable listings. I think the main reasons being not only a very strong urban core economy in Boston proper (although Philly is making great strides here, too), but the amount of foreign investment in Boston real estate pushes its ppsf metric to truly stratospheric levels. By comparison, international investment in Philly is very nascent/minimal. Which for the vast majority of homebuyers is a good thing.
The Boston suburbs, too, arguably have the strictest zoning in the country due to not only locally protected conservation land, but the vast number of non-buildable lots within wetlands. Philly also has very robust land preservation in its suburbs, but the lack of an immediate coastal/wetland dynamic makes a huge difference in available land.
Yeah, there's really no contest here as to highest real estate costs, even on comparable listings. I think the main reasons being not only a very strong urban core economy in Boston proper (although Philly is making great strides here, too), but the amount of foreign investment in Boston real estate pushes its ppsf metric to truly stratospheric levels. By comparison, international investment in Philly is very nascent/minimal. Which for the vast majority of homebuyers is a good thing.
The Boston suburbs, too, arguably have the strictest zoning in the country due to not only locally protected conservation land, but the vast number of non-buildable lots within wetlands. Philly also has very robust land preservation in its suburbs, but the lack of an immediate coastal/wetland dynamic makes a huge difference in available land.
Totally agree.
To your second point, zoning and land preservation feeds the lack of housing debacle in the area (especially MetroWest). I'm not sure how much the ocean truly limits availabilty- There's a lot lot lot of undeveloped land that sits north/west/south of the city. I think it's more the former than the latter, with the latter being the cherry on top.
Not that it's uncommon in a lot of areas of this country, but bidding wars have stretched to towns along the 495 belt (25-45 miles outside of the city). Inner ring suburbs can be literally untouchable to even the lower .5 of the 1%. We were ecstatic when we found a decent home, 1000 sq.ft, sub $500k in a nice town 25 miles from the city.
Maybe once the buyer's architect finishes outfitting the interior of the unfinished condo at 500 Walnut Street that tops this list, the total cost of that condo might reach $2,000 per square foot.
Now, the bi-level top-floor penthouse at this building sold for a record-shattering $17.85 million in the summer of 2016, but that worked out to only $2,006/square foot for its 8,900 square feet of space.
Tom Scannapieco is already at work on his next high-rise, two blocks east of this one. If he continues his track record, that one will have another record-shattering sale price.
But it probably still won't hit $3,750/sf.
BTW, NeighborhoodX, the company that runs the sale-price reports for us, is headquartered in Boston.
Our parent Metrocorp publishes the city magazines in both cities.
The Boston suburbs, too, arguably have the strictest zoning in the country due to not only locally protected conservation land, but the vast number of non-buildable lots within wetlands. Philly also has very robust land preservation in its suburbs, but the lack of an immediate coastal/wetland dynamic makes a huge difference in available land.
The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey rates Philadelphia among the less restrictive large (2,000,000+) metropolitan areas when it comes to permitting construction.
And its housing costs are lower than any other large Northeast metro, just nosing out more-restrictive Baltimore.
Could it be that Philadlephia has significantly more apartments at lower range. Point being living in the higher end residences and neighborhoods of both cities and metroes are going to be similar regarding c.o.l..
Well, when people talk about affordability, it's the lower to middle range neighborhoods they compare usually.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
