House of the week: A five-bedroom, updated twin in Mount Airy for $500,000

South Philadelphia residents Claire and Rusty Watkins wanted to stay in the city but with more space for their family of four.

Their solution: East Mount Airy, where they found a five-bedroom twin that had been completely renovated by a developer. The couple — Claire works for a nonprofit in global public health and Rusty is in sports marketing — bought the house in 2018.

Claire said that the house, built in 1925, had been occupied by the same family for about 50 years and that the developer had kept many of the original touches, including a third-floor Juliet balcony from which “you can see Center City on a clear day.”

Now the family is moving to New Hope to be closer to relatives in Bucks County and New Jersey.

The house has five bedrooms, 3½ baths, and total square footage of 2,700.

The foyer leads to a winding staircase to the third floor with nine-foot ceilings and a raised tray ceiling in the dining room.

The living room features an electric fireplace, and the kitchen has cherrywood cabinets, a breakfast bar island, and granite countertops.

The second floor has two bedrooms, including the primary suite with walk-in closets and a ceramic tiled bathroom with dual sinks and a walk-in shower.

One of the third-floor bedrooms leads to a balcony, and temperature is regulated by double-pane vinyl thermal windows, ceiling fans, central air and gas heat.

Outdoors, there is a large fenced-in back yard and a covered front porch.

There is a new roof with warranty.

The house is three blocks from a Regional Rail station and close to several playgrounds and parks.

The house is listed by Scott Geller of RE/MAX Centre Realtors for $500,000.