Updated quarterly
What the local numbers are actually doing
Six markets, the figures that change an approval, and the commentary we would give a client on the phone. Written for people making a decision, not for a press release.
Six markets, the numbers that matter
Median price and days on market set your negotiating position. The effective tax rate sets your debt ratio. The transfer tax sets your cash to close.
| Market | Median price | Days on market | Effective property tax | Transfer tax | Most common program |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center City Philadelphia, PA | $412,000 | 34 days | 1.398% of assessed value | 4.278% combined, customarily split | Conventional and jumbo |
| Bala Cynwyd, PA | $685,000 | 26 days | 2.35% effective, Lower Merion | 2.00% combined, customarily split | Jumbo and conventional high balance |
| King of Prussia, PA | $487,000 | 29 days | 1.42% effective, Upper Merion | 2.00% combined, customarily split | Conventional, VA and new construction |
| Cherry Hill, NJ | $398,000 | 31 days | 2.68% effective, Camden County | NJ realty transfer fee, seller paid | Conventional and FHA |
| Wilmington, DE | $342,000 | 28 days | 0.58% effective, New Castle County | 4.00% combined, first-time buyer credit available | Conventional, FHA and DSCR |
| Allentown, PA | $289,000 | 33 days | 1.86% effective, Lehigh County | 2.00% combined, customarily split | USDA, FHA and conventional |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Sample market data. Every figure in this table is an illustration for a demonstration website and requires client approval before publication. Nothing here is a valuation or a forecast.
Four things we keep explaining on the phone
The abatement phase-down is now an escrow problem
Philadelphia's residential abatement steps down rather than running flat for ten years. A buyer whose escrow was set on the abated assessment finds their payment rising in year four. We underwrite to the stepped figure, which occasionally costs us the deal and never costs the client a surprise.
Transfer tax is the largest line on a city closing
At 4.278% combined, a $412,000 Center City purchase carries $17,625 of transfer tax. Who pays which half is a contract term, not a law, and in a softer market buyers have been negotiating a larger seller share.
Coverage ratios have moved to the outer counties
Inside city limits, rents have not kept pace with pricing and debt service, so 1.20 coverage is getting hard to find. New Castle County in Delaware and parts of the Lehigh Valley still support it at current investor pricing.
New Jersey taxes decide more approvals than rates do
A 2.68% effective rate on a $398,000 Camden County home is $889 a month before principal, interest or insurance. In South Jersey the back-end ratio fails on property tax far more often than on the note rate.
Longer pieces on the same numbers
Rates and pricingHow discount points really work, and the break-even nobody shows you
One point on a $400,000 loan costs $4,000 and saves $64 a month. That is 62 months to recover. Here is the whole calculation, including the case for taking a lender credit instead.
7 min readRead
Investor lendingDSCR loans explained for Philadelphia row home investors
Rent divided by PITIA. That single ratio decides the approval, the price tier and the down payment. Here is how it behaves on real West Philadelphia numbers.
8 min readRead
CostsDropping PMI: the two dates already printed on your amortization schedule
One is the month you may request cancellation. The other is the month it must terminate automatically. On a typical Philadelphia file they are roughly fourteen months apart.
6 min readRead
Want these numbers for one address?
Send us the property and we will come back with the tax figure, the likely appraisal range and what the financing costs.
No application fee. Soft credit pull at pre-qualification. Flat $1,095 origination at closing.