Should I invest there?

[Vivian Long]

Is 19140/19134 in Philly a B or C neighborhood? Should I invest there? I heard Philly was a market varied greatly block by block. But heard my friend had some good luck in the market and wanted to see whether it’s worth trying. Thanks!

[Jimmy O'Connor]

@Vivian Long 19134 has one border in it that acts as the barrier between a strong flipping to a strong rental market- thy name is Aramingo and Allegheny. You're seeing it all up the eastern side of Philly along the I-95 corridor that anything close to the water is greatly appreciating starting from Olde City, moving North to Northern Liberties (19123), Fishtown (19125), and pushing to Port Richmond. After Allegheny Ave in 19134 going North Eastwards, you see a pretty hefty drop off in resale values until you make it to true North East Philadelphia. For instance, one block southwest of Allegheny you'll see actives and settled around the 240k-280k while just on the other side you may see 200-245k.  The border at Aramingo is arguably harsher as it is near the transition between Port Richmond to the rougher part of Kensington where most of the heroine activity is prevalent.  I want to be clear that other parts of Kensington are absolutely amazing (Olde Kensington / East Kensington / anywhere that touches Fishtown) for flipping. If you are a section 8 master- crossing these borders can be a great strategy because they are near such strong markets that its only a matter of time and patience that these areas will appreciate and the development will hop over these boundaries. You're already seeing this on the other side of Port Richmond/ Kensington with developments like Kensington Courts at Frankford and Lehigh that is acting as the flagship for that area's serious development.

19140 has historically been a rental market with no high price tag real estate since Philly hosted the World Fair in 1926 which coincided with the 150th anniversary of signing the Declaration of Independence. This is largely why when you check public records, most rehabbed homes were originally built around 1920-1930 (yay history lessons). Fast forward to today, that area can be pretty rough. However-, there are plans in the making for the intersection at Broad and Erie at the massive triangular intersection by Temple University Hospital. The city is looking to pump money and attention into that pocket as it already has high foot traffic, access to Broad Street Line, and capacity for commercial development once the inane intersection and dilapidated old factory buildings are fixed. Plans for a Marriot, multiple mixed-use facilities, and plans to restructure the intersection so it's less of a speedway are en route (see this article from the Inquirer https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/inga-saffron/north-philadelphia-beury-broad-erie-germantown-avenue-transit-intersection-gentrification-street-improvement-20191031.html ).

At the northwest border of 19140 is Germantown- personally, my favorite area to invest in. There is A TON of focused effort going in from Wayne Junction all the way up to Chestnut Hill. It's easy to postulate that if development at the Broad / Erie Border and Jumpstart Germantown come to full fruition, the rest of 19140 that is east of Broad Street would be sandwiched by two strong developing markets.