Real estate investors fuel drug crisis | Real Estate Newsletter

Kensington’s vacant and easy-to-break-into properties have fueled its drug crisis.

Now, the city is trying to shut down the neighborhood’s notorious drug market, which could raise property values and spur development. That means real estate investors responsible for Kensington’s blight and the resulting nightmare for residents could soon cash in.

Keep scrolling for that story and the rest of this edition:

📮A few years ago, I accidentally killed a vine that my mom had been growing for decades. (I blame my decision to bring it to the office.) Do you have a plant in your home or garden that you inherited? For a chance to be featured in my newsletter, email me.

— Michaelle Bond

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The compound in Kensington was known as “Triple X.”

Like a perverse farmer’s market, drug dealers set up tables there. And they pitched tents where customers who paid $5 could get high.

The fenced-off area included two vacant lots and an empty storefront that was once an adult bookstore and alleged prostitution front. The man who bought the empty building in 2020 is a real estate speculator. His business strategy is to buy properties no one else wants and sit on them until their values rise and he can sell them for a profit.

Corporate owners hold one in five properties in upper Kensington. And some attract crime and gun violence.

Keep reading to learn what The Inquirer found when we investigated real estate speculation in Kensington.

A new generation is on a mission to preserve the history of one of Avalon’s oldest homes.

The three-story house was built in 1880, and it’s been in Alex Anastasio’s family for three decades. She was thrilled to be able to buy it in 2020.

She and her husband, Paul, love the location and ocean view, but the home’s historical significance was a huge draw. It was the first home recognized by the Avalon Register of Historic Places. (Back in 2017, we wrote about a developer who bought another of Avalon’s oldest homes to demolish it.)

During the pandemic, the Anastasios learned about two families who lived in the house at different times. The grandson of one man who owned the house from the 1920s to the 1960s shared his childhood memories in a note that appeared on the couple’s door.

Then there’s the rumor that the house used to be a brothel in the late 1800s, which could be why four of the home’s six bedrooms are so small.

Peek into the home that Alex’s parents named “Sand Spur” and learn more about the home’s features and history.

Philly released new property assessments last week for the first time since 2022. The tax bills that come with those assessments are due next year.

As you may remember reading in this newsletter last week, Philly homeowners can expect their property tax bills to go up by more than $300 on average.

My colleague Layla A. Jones put together a guide laying out what Philadelphians need to know about the new property valuations and their tax bills.

For the lowdown on how Philly comes up with the value of properties, how to calculate your tax bill, how to appeal your assessment, and more, keep reading.

Last weekend, a friend came to visit who’d given me a small piece of her spider plant in 2017. Unfortunately, her own plant later died. But my piece has grown big and produced a lot of babies. One baby that I’d given to another friend years ago just recently started flowering and producing babies itself.

I’m pretty proud that I’ve helped my friend’s plant live on in a way.

So I can imagine a little bit of what Jim Vick and Julie Miller Vick must feel about their yard in Haddonfield.

Their 40-foot cedar tree grew from a two-foot sapling that Jim dug up from his parents’ yard. That sapling had come from a large cedar that Jim’s grandfather had planted in the 1930s near his home in Altoona, Pa.

Some flowers in the Vicks’ garden came from Julie’s parents’ yard in Belmont, Mass. Some plants came from the garden of Jim’s longtime friends in Boston.

Take a peek inside this lush Haddonfield property that the Vicks crafted over 40 years.

The number of millennials living in Philly has gone up over the last two decades, while the numbers of baby boomers and Gen Xers have dropped. Millennials now make up the biggest portion of Philly’s population, and they’re not rushing to the suburbs.

Question: Millennials make up roughly what percentage of Philly’s residents?

A) 33%

B) 45%

C) 18%

D) 27%

This story has the answer.

As you saw earlier in the newsletter, the Philly area’s luxury home market did well this spring. Compared to last spring, luxury sales were up.

But in the market overall, sales were down this spring compared to the same time last year.

However, like the luxury market, the overall market was still competitive this spring and continues to be this summer, with prices still on the rise and homes selling fast (if they’re desirable and priced right).

Buyers also have more homes to choose from than last year, but affording a home is still difficult for many.

According to the multiple listing service Bright MLS, in the Philly metro area:

🔺The number of active home listings at the end of July was up about 18%. And suburban counties saw the most gains.

🔺The median sales price was $395,000 last month — $26,000 higher than last July.

🔺Home sales in July were up 13% from the same time last year.

The average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage dropped last week to the lowest level in more than a year. Lower rates should bring more buyers and sellers into the market.

Do you know the location this photo shows?

📮 If you think you do, email me back. You and your memories of visiting this spot might be featured in the newsletter.

Shout out to Janet P., Matt C., and Sandi S. for knowing that last week’s quiz featured a photo of the now slightly smaller Graffiti Pier.

Matt told me he went on a team-building boat tour over there a few years ago “and the view from the water of this unique space is great.”

Enjoy the rest of your week.

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