PHILADELPHIA ZIPCODE 101
I've been working with a lot of out of state and newbie investors for the Philly market. They are experts in numbers and know what they want. However, they've struggled with understanding about the areas and where to best invest in, especially Philly is a block by block basis city. As a real estate consultant and local to Philly, I'm offering some of my insights about some common zipcodes that my investors often buy.
19119 (Mount Airy, Northwest philly)
Similar to 19150 but maybe less desirable because it's a bit funky depending on certain areas in this zipcode. There are houses that are 150 ARV and half of a million dollars close to each other. Down near Wissahickon Ave (South of this zipcode), you'll see more high end homes whereas in Mt. Airy Ave, Chew Ave, Upsal…(North of the zipcode), you'll see houses around 150-185 ARV. But overall, it's a pretty decent zipcode
19138
You’ll see higher home in North of it like 74th Ave, 72nd Ave, Limekiln Pike, ARV should be 200K. The further south you go, the weirder it gets. You can pick up a property that needs touch base of everything around 60-80K, ARV is about 150K. On the West side of Wister St, it has great rental and flip pocket, ARV is 150K. La Salle University is not far away from here, so you may be able to rent it out to students.
On the east side of Wister St, you'll see Belfield and it's unique because Belfield is in between two zipcodes (19138 and 19141). These two zipcodes are pretty consistent and similar though. The closer you get to the South, the more it's desirable. ARV 175-190K
19144
This is also a part of Germantown, very unique zipcode. Some parts are really bad and some parts are just awesome. Most of the time, we’ll have deals coming up in North of this zipcode, South of Washington Ln to E Chester Ave. The closer to La Salle University, the worse it’ll get but it’s still good for rental properties. It’s more of a flip pocket. But the difference this zipcode makes is the other side of Germantown Ave, where Penn-Knox, Germantown is. You’ll see historic big half of a million houses in this area. The reason is mainly because of it’s by the Wissahickon park.
19140
Undoubtedly, there are spots in this zipcode that are appreciating fastest in Philly. North of Roosevelt Blvd (Wyoming), you'll see a lot of properties pop up at 125-150K ish ARV. It's appreciating very rapidly tho. For the purchase price, we once sold a shell here at about only 30K. It's a great spot for investors to wait for appreciation in my opinion. Less than a year ago, it was a no name area and now investors start looking at it and buying more. Competition in this spot is not very high yet, so there is still room for you to come in now. The price is very affordable also. South of Roosevelt Blvd is mainly for rental properties. The closer you get to Hunting Park, the better. 120-135 ARV in this area. We also have Temple University Hospital in this area where you can rent it out to grad students, nurses…
19122
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY BOOMING, especially in the Olde Kensington area. You'll see big multi units, new constructions everywhere!!! Zoning RM1. Yorktown is very hard for find inventories but a great area to have rentals ‘cause it's by Temple University, pretty high value 250-300 ARV.
19121
This is a big and diverse zipcode, has a lot of different values. The most popular pocket is anything from 25th St to Cecil B Moore Ave and 33rd Girard Ave (Brewerytown). Anything from west of 25th st to Ridge Ave is Sharswood. There is a big difference between these two. In Brewerytown, you can still find big RM1 Land, and multiunits. The closer you are to Girard, the more desirable it is. The reason is that in 19130 next to it, Francisville and Fairmount have always been a good neighborhood, very family oriented. We also have Girard College, a good private school. So down in the south of Brewerytown, near Girard, if you can just get a shell 2 story house for 100-150K, that's already great, 325-350 ARV. Anything north of Brewerytown, it could be a steal if you get a purchase of around 135K, ARV could be 200-300. The reason Brewerytown is hot is because of the expansion of the city from 19130.
Anything above Cecil B Moore Ave, around Montgomery Ave (the red triangle in the picture I draw for you), it's hard to get the right price because they like to think it's Brewerytown, but it's not. Price should be picked up at around 70K. You'll have to do a good damn rehab in this pocket to get it to 200-250 ARV, like putting 80-90K in work.
For the blue triangle I draw for you, close to Fairmount Park, which I believe is one of the largest parks in PA, the closer you are to the park, the better it is. If you drive along 33rd St, you’ll see massive huge multi family. A great place for rental properties. This area is gonna explode. It’s not a matter of what but of when.
In the west of this zipcode, investors often buy from 17th st to Temple University. A very good pocket for rental as well. ARV 200-250. The closer to Temple University, the more desirable. Sharswood is okay, not that great. The closer to Girard and South and Broad St, the better.
South Philly:
19146
One of the hottest zipcode in the country for a very long time. North of Washington Ave is considered graduate hospital. You'll see big 3 story row home, young population but we don't normally have a lot of inventories in this area. It's pretty high end. 300K purchase and 500-750 ARV. South side of Washington Ave is Point Breeze and New Bold. Purchase price is around 150K, 285-300 ARV. With properties in these areas, it's very consistent that you gut it totally, dig the basement. You're just looking for good bone property in these areas. There were so many people looking to flip in Point Breeze and New Bold that the price was too high for people to buy a home to live in. But the people who were looking to buy are often young professionals and they don't have enough money to buy with a high price. So Point Breeze and New Bold experienced a deflated price 2 years ago. It's happening exactly in Grays Ferry now. The price of the property got hammered in this area, arv 265-280K.
19143
South of Spruce St, from 63rd st to west of 52nd st is Cobbs Creek has been exploded in the past a year and a half. The closer you’re to 52nd st, the better. The further west you go, the cheaper you'll get for the price. This is 90% row homes area. There is a little corner near Motivation High School, right the border with Delco (Delaware County) you'll see big twins, 250-300 ARV. In Cobbs Creek overall, ARV should be 185-200, if it's closer to 52nd St, it’ll be 225-250.
It gets more different as you cross the Baltimore Ave (big yellow line in the map). Cedar Park and Squirrel Hill are where university of science is . Overhere, you’ll get crazy good looking characters of things, half of million dollar houses. You’ll find big renovated twins in this area. New constructions are everywhere. This area is super valuable. It’s also close to 19104, where Penn and Drexel are. That zipcode is students rental pocket, very good but we don’t have a lot of deals overthere.
Going down to Kingsessing, it used to be a taboo and no one would touch anything there, but over the past two years, investors start looking at it. 150-175K ARV, Kingsessing is Cobbs Creek two years ago and I think this area will grow fast in the foreseeable future.
19153 (SouthWest Philly)
We don't normally have a lot of inventories in this area but it's awesome down here close to the airport. Island Ave is the hot button road. Anything up of Eastwick, you'll get solid 150-160K super solid ARV all day long with very low days on market. Homes are very wide and big. However, the entry price is a bit high in this area, anything around 80-90K would be a steal in this pocket. People love to rent in this pocket, very high rental income. Overall, it's just a very solid zipcode
There are more zipcodes in Philly, let me know what you want me to write about. I can do part 2 if you find this helpful. Enjoy and let me know how I can help!
This is really helpful info, thank you! My husband is one of those agents who knows all the ZIP codes by heart but I'm a Philly-area transplant so there's a learning curve for me! Saving this info for future reference. Thanks!
thank you for putting this together. Very Helpful!
@Victoria Pham how about 19134, more specifically Port Richmond.
Thank you.
Great post Victoria, super helpful!
In reading your description of 19121, you have your NSEW directions confused.
Fairmount Park is WEST of this zip code. The area in blue is next to Fairmount Park and this is the westernmost part. And Temple University is EAST of this zip code.
Don’t know how anybody who knows the city could mess that up.
@Victoria Pham Super nice of you to offer these insights to newbies!
As an avid Philly area investor and also consultant to remote investors, I would suggest giving a Covid and post Covid perspective. Philly is still a good investmentarket but is gonna have a rough 2021-22. Suburbs are getting more interesting and further from the city are no lack of bproughs and towns with charm and renewed interest due to Covid. I just finished a Bucks county buy & hold and placed a solid tenant quickly for $1,750 rent on a $185k investment with a $230k-$245 rapidly appreciating ARV and working on another now. There are interesting "B" opportunities coming for those who want solid investments in unsure times. Philly will keep being interesting but you really need to be selective in my humble opinion. Ive always been selective about property, location and tenants and that pays off right now undoutebly.
Thanks. The zips/areas make a huge difference. Nice breakdown.
Thank you for sharing your insight! Do you have any thoughts on zip 19132 (Allegheny West/Strawberry Mansion), especially for rental properties?
Also welcome to hear any input from others who have invested in these areas.
Wow, thank you!
Hey Sheryl - Appreciate your perspective. As buy & hold investors, my partner and I have also been trying to explore which areas might make sense in a post-COVID world. Our portfolio is pretty much split between the city and Manayunk right now, but we've started to think more about the suburbs as a way to add some additional diversification. We also haven't really seen anything particularly interesting in the city recently. The numbers just haven't made sense for us, although it's entirely possible/probable that deals are out there and our deal funnel just isn't robust enough. With that said, are there any specific towns that you would recommend looking at right now?
Originally posted by @Sheryl Sitman:@Victoria Pham Super nice of you to offer these insights to newbies!
As an avid Philly area investor and also consultant to remote investors, I would suggest giving a Covid and post Covid perspective. Philly is still a good investmentarket but is gonna have a rough 2021-22. Suburbs are getting more interesting and further from the city are no lack of bproughs and towns with charm and renewed interest due to Covid. I just finished a Bucks county buy & hold and placed a solid tenant quickly for $1,750 rent on a $185k investment with a $230k-$245 rapidly appreciating ARV and working on another now. There are interesting "B" opportunities coming for those who want solid investments in unsure times. Philly will keep being interesting but you really need to be selective in my humble opinion. Ive always been selective about property, location and tenants and that pays off right now undoutebly.
@Joshua Levine:Depends on your strategy. I am willing to give up some ROI for lower risk right now. And appreciation potential is looking excellent in the suburbs and small towns. Bucks and Montco have opportunities and if you are willing to go further out, there are so many towns to explore.
@Sheryl Sitman
What about Delco. Are there any specific parts you would recommend?
Originally posted by @Eli B.:@Sheryl Sitman
What about Delco. Are there any specific parts you would recommend?
That should probably be its own topic, like “DELCO ZIPCODE 101”.
@Sheryl Sitman Where in Bucks County was your most recent rental?
@Eli B. I am not familiar enough. For buy & hold my impression is that there is lots of C and D opportunities if that is your thing. I look for a particular set of criteria and it is not necessarily what you look for...The right strategy matched to the right place can work most anywhere.
Thank you for this break down!
@Sheryl Sitman I've been looking in Bucks and recently Montco too for buy and holds. There are a lot of great areas within good school districts too.
Thank you for the informative post Victoria. What are your thoughts on 19145 specifically the Grays Ferry side of 19145 ?
Really informative, thanks for sharing. Would love to see 19139 on the next one
Great information Victoria. Thank you.
great post. very helpful, you rock!
