I’m a Phillypreneur. I am also a first time home owner. As an entrepreneur, it goes without saying that my decision to buy was influenced by my business. I needed a location that wouldn’t leave me house poor, and I wanted access to all things necessary for starting a company, without dependence on my car. I wanted something I could contemporize to suit my needs. Most of my peers from childhood have pursued the American dream of the suburban Sprawl. On some level, I have been lead to believe that my decision to stay in the city, coupled with the fact, that I am not currently in what’s considered a “trendy hot spot” is a shameful one. However, we all make the choices that best suit our lifestyles, and mine was recently reinforced by the Building Industry Association of Philadelphia’s most recent newsletter, BIA VOICE.
In this issue the message from the President, Sam Sherman was all about Location efficiency. He said, “Location efficiency can best be explained by looking at Center City Philadelphia and its adjacent neighborhoods. Those who live in Center City have access to mass transit, they can walk to work, their neighborhoods are mixed- use, they are walkable and pedestrian friendly and living WITHOUT a car is entirely plausible. By choosing to live in the city, these homeowners have a choice to invest in an appreciable asset ( their home) instead of a depreciating asset (the car) or apply the money saved to retirement savings, college funds for their children or going out to dinner more often. The average household savings resulting in eliminating one car is $750 a month. If a homebuyer were to use this savings to qualify for a mortgage, they would be able to finance an additional $125,000 towards the purchase of a home. (Based on a 30 year mortgage at 6.25%.) Location efficiency is good for business.”
As Sam pointed out, owning a house with the location efficiency in Philly has long term financial benefits. But I feel like so much focus is on a couple trendy locations and many of the more affordable ‘adjacent’ neighborhoods get overlooked. Take my neighborhood for example.
My home is in a middles class neighborhood with a price point below the median home price for our market, which according to TrendMLS, this regions database for Realtors, is 188k. My neighborhood offers a residential haven complete with walkability and easy parking. To top it all off, my neighborhood is affordable, and most nights it’s quiet. With this kind of location efficiency, why isn’t my neighborhood on the hot and trendy lists of places to live in Philadelphia? (Actually, the thought that I could help it get there was one of the reasons I chose to live here)So as a budget driven Phillypreneur that needs every last penny for your life’s passion, don’t discount the adjacent neighborhoods that are off the radar. There are affordable deals with great location efficiency to be had if you look outside the box of Center City and it’s trendy neighborhoods.
Melissa Centifonti was born and raised in Philadelphia. She has a BA in Liberal Arts and spent her early career in art education. She currently works as a realtor on the Centifonti-Lippman Team in the Keller Williams Realty office, located in Washington Square.
