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Philly’s housing market is booming; Fall Arts Guide is here | Morning Newsletter

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    by Oona Goodin-Smith
    Published 

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

They tried, but it just wasn’t enough. After an uninspiring first half in Atlanta last night, Carson Wentz and the Eagles fired back in the fourth quarter against the Falcons, ultimately falling short and losing 24-20. Philly’s housing market, on the other hand, is still going strong, even as the threat of a recession looms. And, if you’re longing for crisp fall days as the temperature climbs past 80 degrees today, look no further than our Fall Arts Guide, where you can find the best autumnal activities, concerts, festivals and more in the Philadelphia region.

— Oona Goodin-Smith (@oonagoodinsmith, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Philly’s housing market is still booming, even as recession fears grow

If you’re looking to buy a house in the Philadelphia area, don’t count on a recession to help you win a bidding war or score a deal.

In fact, over the last seven years, home prices in Philly have risen nearly 46% as the population has grown, income increased, and vacant units vanished.

And though signs suggest a national economic slowdown is coming, the strength of Philly’s local housing market puts the region in a strong position to weather a recession, experts say.

Here’s what’s happening in Philly this fall

Don’t let the lingering summer weather fool you; fall and its bounty of festivals, concerts, and autumnal events have arrived in Philly. Our critics have picked the best of what’s to come in our Fall Arts Guide, so you can sit back, sip your pumpkin spice latte, and enjoy the harvest.

  1. 🎤Concerts in Philadelphia: City Winery gets ready to open, Eric Church takes up residency, and Madonna is...Madonna

  2. 🍿Movies you need to see: Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman,’ ‘Downton Abbey,' ‘Joker’ and more

  3. 📺 Fall TV: Apple gets into the game, HBO tries the ‘Watchmen,’ and ‘The Goldbergs’ go on ‘Vacation’

  4. 👻Festivals: Terror Behind the Walls, Oktoberfests, Philadelphia Marathon, and the 100th Thanksgiving Day Parade

  5. 🎭 ‘Mean Girls,’ ‘Ragtime,’ Bebe Neuwirth, ‘Hamilton,’ and so much more live theater in Philly

  6. 🏛️Philadelphia museum shows: Climate crisis, Notorious RBG, shark-bite survival, and ‘Spit Spreads Death’ at the Mütter

  7. 🎼This fall in classical music: Audra McDonald, a ‘royal’ cellist, a social media opera — and 150 carpenters hammering

  8. 😂Comedy in Philly: Randy Rainbow, Ali Wong, John Cleese and more are here to make you laugh all fall long

  9. 🎃Fall family events explore ‘Worst-Case Scenarios,’ magic, candy, Day of the Dead, and the ‘Baby Shark’ phenomenon

  10. 💃Fall dance: Philadanco kicks off 50th anniversary celebration with Leslie Odom Jr. back home to sing

  11. 🎩Movie costumes, fairy tales, explorations of black beauty — and one ghost ship — are all coming to art museums in Philadelphia

  12. 🎨These are the fall shows you’ll want to check out on Philly’s art gallery scene

What you need to know today

  1. In the final minutes of last night’s game in Atlanta, Carson Wentz and the Eagles were improbably alive — until they weren’t. The Birds lost to the Falcons, 24-20 on an inelegant evening that may have lasting repercussions.

  2. Two decks collapsed “pancake" style on a three-story condominium building in Wildwood Saturday, trapping porch-goers and injuring at least 22 people. By Sunday, most of those injured in the collapse had been released from area hospitals, officials said.

  3. A New Jersey police chief who was previously captured on tape saying black people are “like ISIS” and deserve to die will head to trial in federal court today on hate-crime charges for allegedly slamming a handcuffed black teenager against a door during an arrest.

  4. As the deadline to appeal their 2020 property assessments creeps closer with no word from the city, thousands of Philadelphia homeowners are left in limbo as they try to contest taxes they say are too high.

  5. Purchased by developers for $6.5 million, the 42-acre Elkins Estate in Elkins Park is on track to become the suburbs’ latest luxury boutique hotel.

  6. Across the country, more than 49,000 General Motors union members walked off the job or set up picket lines early Monday as contract talks with the company dissolved into a strike.

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

Next stop: 🖤. Thanks for capturing the moment, @matthewscottbarber.

Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!

That’s Interesting

  1. Financial troubles almost led to the destruction of Trinity Oxford Church, built in 1711, to make way for a Royal Farms gas station. But thanks to a grant and a vision, the historic red brick church building in Philadelphia’s Northeast section is getting a second life.

  2. Twice a year, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board pays anywhere from a couple hundred to hundreds of thousands of dollars to municipalities across the state for hosting businesses licensed to sell liquor. Here’s why.

  3. Soon to be traded in for a younger, newer model, a weathered wooden utility pole on the corner of Third and Federal Streets is bidding a last “good-bye” to the neighborhood in true Philly fashion: an oddly fatalistic 150-word obituary.

  4. At Sunday’s Phillies game, 15 people celebrated America’s pastime in an extra special way: by becoming U.S. citizens.

Opinions

“But it wasn’t the shooting that upended Griscom Street’s rhythm. It was the quiet that came after it. Griscom Street confronted a terrible irony: That quiet was the first peace their block had experienced in years.” - Columnist Mike Newall on the Northeast Philadelphia block that provides a window into the city’s gun violence problem.

  1. Which stories has American history prioritized, and which has it left out? Three scholars and a historian weigh in.

  2. Regulating housing options isn’t an effective way to discourage affluent people from moving into a specific neighborhood and slow gentrification, opinion writer Abraham Gutman concludes.

What we’re reading

  1. Tanya Covington spends every day in jury duty, and she wouldn’t want it any other way. Billy Penn profiles Philadelphia’s joke-telling “jury duty lady.”

  2. On this year’s anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a New Hampshire man tweeted a viral thread detailing the efforts of 28 search and rescue dogs who worked tirelessly through the tragedy. Buzzfeed News tells the story behind his tweets.

  3. Just over 10 years ago in the heart of coal country, nearly three-fifths of the workforce was male. But as jobs in hospitals have replaced jobs in coal mines in Letcher County, Ky., the culture is changing and an increasing number of women are going to work, The New York Times reports.

Your Daily Dose of | The UpSide

With giant flat-screen TVs, massage chairs, free WiFi, arcade games, and shelves packed with children’s books, these high-end Philadelphia laundromats are on a mission to bring loads of fun and resources to lower-income neighborhoods.