Balancing neighborhood growth and identity | Real Estate Newsletter

Don’t let anyone tell you that Wissahickon is part of Roxborough. The Philly neighborhood has its own identity, residents say.

And those residents are trying to hold onto Wissahickon’s character as new development and people move in. Northwest Philly saw a lot of interest from developers during the pandemic.

So residents are working to create their own historic district, and the city has banned demolitions while they make their case.

Keep scrolling for that story and to learn about the latest challenges facing a Pennsylvania home repair program meant to make properties safe, find out what home prices and supply did last month in the region, and peek inside a 1920s Colonial home in Camden County.

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When I think of Wissahickon, I recall the park I used to live next to as a renter in Upper Roxborough and, growing up, of the fun pronunciation of the name my family liked hearing on the news.

My colleague Jake Blumgart describes Wissahickon as “a leafy community defined by an eclectic mix of 19th- and early 20th-century homes.” And the small community’s been growing and changing.

More than 700 people moved in between the 2010 and 2020 Census counts. Large new single-family homes have made up the bulk of new development. A proposed five-story apartment building made a lot of people angry.

Because of all the attention, Wissahickon residents want a historic district that would preserve homes by making it hard for owners to demolish older buildings.

Critics are worried that creating a historic district will limit the number of new homes in an area that’s in high demand. A historic preservationist who lives in Wissahickon said the push for the designation isn’t driven by antidevelopment feelings but the desire to protect a unique neighborhood from thoughtless demolitions.

Pennsylvania lawmakers put $125 million into creating the Whole-Home Repairs Program — the largest investment in recent memory that the state has made to improve the quality of homes.

Counties have been taking grant applications from residents who hope for help fixing problems such as leaking roofs, unsafe electrical wiring, and broken furnaces. It’s clear that there isn’t enough money to go around.

These are some of the challenges the program is facing:

Meanwhile, on the program’s wait-list are people such as one woman who’s scared to use her shower because of leaky plumbing and a family whose roof caved in, leaving them stuck living in a few rooms on their home’s first floor.

Many more people applied for help than currently can be helped. Read on to learn more about the status of a program that won support from both Democrats and Republicans in a state with some of the country’s oldest housing stock.

Over the last 20 years or so, Laura and Brent Whitaker of Haddon Heights have more than tweaked their three-story Colonial home, built around 1927.

They turned two smaller bedrooms into a primary bedroom, bathroom, and closet. They replaced original windows, re-sided the house, and installed central A.C. (I remember what a big deal it was for my family when my grandma and aunt finally got central air at their house.)

The Whitakers added a second story to an addition off the back, making space to expand a bedroom and create a sitting room, laundry room, and storage closet.

Thanks to previous owners, they had to remove five — yes, five — layers of wallpaper in the dining room.

But one thing in the home has stayed the same: the artwork the Whitakers love that was drawn by Laura’s grandmother for various department stores in the 1930s through the ‘80s.

Peek inside the home to see the art and find out what initially sold the Whitakers on the property.

New numbers from the Census Bureau highlight inequalities in Philly when it comes to how much money residents make.

Question: Roughly how big is the gap between the median household incomes in Philly’s richest and poorest neighborhoods?

A) $40,000

B) $60,000

C) $80,000

D) $100,000

This story has the answer.

Mortgage interest rates were still relatively high in November, even though they fell throughout the month. The average rate for the popular 30-year fixed mortgage ended November at 7.22%, according to Freddie Mac.

Both despite and because of interest rates, November’s housing market brought the Philly region more of the same: higher prices and a low supply of homes for sale.

Here are some key market stats from November, according to the multiple listing service Bright MLS:

🔺 The median home sale price was $355,000 — up 7.6% compared to last November.

🔺 Home prices were 43% higher in November than they were in 2019.

🔻 The number of active home listings dropped about 8% from last November. There were a little over 10,100 active listings at the end of last month.

🔻 New listings dropped by 21% from October to November, which follows seasonal trends.

🔻 The supply of homes for sale was less than half what it was in 2019.

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 Zohray B., Gerrit B., and Sean K., who knew that last week’s photo of a white elephant head was taken in the 1500 block of Locust Street. The head is outside of the new holiday pop-up bar White Elephant. Honorable mention goes to Rahul D., who knew the bar was in the Rittenhouse area.

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If holiday decorating in your home includes a live Christmas tree, we’ve got some tips from experts on how to take care of your tree and avoid burning down your house.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

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