Monthly Economic Report: Home Sales in City Down 13% from Last Year


Date: October 28, 2011
Categories
  • Finance & Policy
Controller: Alan Butkovitz

Executive Summary


For Immediate Release:
October 28, 2011

Contact: Brian Dries
215-686-8869

Home Sales in City Down 13% from Last Year
City Controller’s economic report includes a look at home sales
in Philadelphia & highlights City tax revenues

Click here to view monthly economic report

PHILADELPHIA – City Controller Alan Butkovitz today released his monthly economic report that found total yearly home sales in the City of Philadelphia have dropped 13 percent compared to the same reporting period from last year.

Since January 2011, homes sales in the City over the last nine months have totaled 7,591, compared to 8,723 sales over the same period in 2010. During the peak home-buying season from late spring and into the summer of 2011, Philadelphia realized the largest decreases in total sales which included: -21% in April, -30% in May, and -33% in June.

Although overall sales are down through the first nine months of this year, sales posted in every month of the third quarter have outpaced sales from the same quarter last year by an average of 12 percent. The areas of Fitler Square and Graduate Hospital realized the most home sales with 428 through the current year. Neighborhoods located in the South Philadelphia zipcode 19148 had the second most sales with 358.

Neighborhoods with the lowest home sales were in sections north of Center City, which include Fairhill (19133) and West Kensington (19122). These year-to-date sales totaled 22 and 37, respectively.

Along with a look at yearly home sales, the City Controller’s economic report shows that Wage/Earnings/NPT collections for the month totaled $110.8 million, a five percent increase compared to the same month last year. Total collections for the first three months of the fiscal year are less than one percent higher than the same period last year. Total sales tax collections for the current fiscal year were $61.6 million, a six percent decrease compared to the same period last year.

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