Philadelphia’s Housing Check-in

Mayor Parker speaking at the NeighborhoodLIFT launch

​A new $15,000 home buyer grant has launched! Real estate publications have labeled Philadelphia’s housing market as HOT. But realistically, what does that mean for renters and prospective buyers? 

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Philadelphia was named the 5th hottest housing market by Zillow for 2025. Zillow emphasized purchasers must move fast because homes are on the market for an average of 11 days. This may sound like an accolade, but it points to a big problem: a lack of affordable homes available for purchase. 

​Compounding factors created this crisis, including high mortgage interest rates, low inventory, and increased sale prices. Philadelphia is not alone, this is a nationwide crisis. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the United States is short 6.8 million affordable housing units. 

​Sometimes homeownership is promoted the same way promoters advertise an exclusive club, that adds to the ‘HOT’ factor, and sometimes it’s purposefully set up to be that way. Historically, Philadelphia was considered one of the most affordable metros in the country but that’s becoming an ill-fitting title as costs continue to rise. 

Civil rights laws and policies that prohibited discrimination led the city to have a remarkably high homeownership rate for Black people, yet a racial gap remains. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia examined this issue and identified that although the gap is smaller than in the 1960s, Black homeownership is down. In fact, the homeownership rate is also down for white non-Hispanic people too. Meanwhile, local lenders are getting caught practicing modern redlining in 2024. Renters are also starting to feel the heat, as Philadelphia was ranked 9th on the list of the 10 least affordable metros identified by Redfin. Renters with stretched budgets are unable to save to purchase a home and are stuck renting.
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Housing counseling agencies work to address this crisis by educating consumers and helping them navigate the growing challenge of maintaining affordable housing. AHCOPA counselors help clients manage finances and connect them to first-time home buyer assistance programs, and mortgage delinquency rescue funds. AHCOPA counselors also guide renters who are in Philadelphia’s eviction diversion program. A majority of these programs rely on government funding to operate. Some are reparations for redlining. AHCOPA is part of the Housing Counseling Action Committee, one of many local organizations that advocate for progressive policies that improve housing opportunities for Philadelphians.

Councilmember Gauthier speaking at the NeighborhoodLIFT launch event at the Enterprise Center

On February 19th, the renewed NeighborhoodLIFT first-time homebuyer grant launched! AHCOPA and RiseUp are the approved housing counseling agencies for the grant. At the launch event, Councilmember Jamie Gauthier spoke about the rising cost of housing stating, “The very thing that makes Philadelphia Philadelphia is under attack”. Gauthier praised the new program as a counter to the growing housing crisis. A few hours prior to the launch, Mayor Cheryl Parker signed an executive order to create the HOME initiative, which aims to fulfill Parker’s promise of creating 30,000 units of affordable housing. 

Naara SILVA

Naara serves at AHCOPA as a second year AmeriCorps VISTA in the Housing Action Corps ​