About Philadelphia's Olde Kensington

One of  our remodeling opportunities is located in an area known as New Kensington, sandwiched between Old Kensington and New Kensington and Fishtown. This section has gained the affection of many first time buyers, investors, artists, and all sorts of creative folks for many reasons. From our vantage point as Realtors, the buyers who we have helped buy in this section of Philadelphia and sellers who have sold homes in this area are pioneers and their presence in this area of Philly is impacting the way we look at "Fishington".

New Kensington, which stretches from York Street to Lehigh and from Front to the Delaware River and takes up a huge portion of the zip code 19125. Many people like the very edge of this community that is sometimes lovingly called Fishington and it encompasses the parallel between the El at Front Street and the Frankford Avenue corridor. The El Stop and the Frankford Avenue Arts Corridor is becoming very popular for commuters in and out of Center City. For those who use public transportation, the area is very convenient. The price of properties per square foot is an amazing value so buyers can own a huge home for a fraction of what it would cost in other areas of the city. Investors are buying dilapidated shells that are eye sores and certainly do not contribute anything positive to the area. These developers are rehabbing these ugly ducklings and turning them into small palaces in their own right. There is enough opportunity to turn a profit and still provide an affordable market value home for buyers. It is a perfect symbiotic system at work.

We have assisted at least 3 artists in purchasing a home in the last 6 months in New Kensington and they are thrilled with their purchases. We think that artists gravitate to this area because thy are quite frankly priced out of their old stomping grounds in Northern Liberties and in Fishtown central. The appeal to create something beautiful is certainly here. There is so much opportunity to be creative. Some of the most recent homeowners in the area are joining forces with those who have lived in New Kensington for years  and together they are building a proactive neighborhood association. The NKCDC (New Kensington Community Development Corporation) is a strong advocate for the area. We have found that a strong neighborhood association is one of the keys to a healthy community.



View Larger Map *****************************************************************************

If interested in buying or selling properties in Philadelphia, contact Chris and Stephanie Somers at thesomersteam@yahoo.com or 215-400-2612.  For investment properties, check out our new investor site at Philly Investor Hub!  If interested in checking out our new office in Northern Liberties, let us know !

The Somers  Team - Philadelphia Real Estate  

Search the MLS Properties Here in Philadelphia

Areas of specialty include: Northern Liberties, Old City, Center City, Fishtown, Graduate Hospital, Art Museum, Queen Village, Pennsport, Old Kensington, Port Richmond, Bridesburg, Society Hill, Loft District, Spring Garden and more !

Are you Building Sweat Equity ?

Stephanie and I own a triplex in Old Kensington, a very much up-and-coming area of Philadelphia Real Estate. One of the tenants just recently moved out so we are taking advantage of the opportunity to spruce the place up. We are having a contractor come by to do some updating with the heating in the next week or so. At the same time, the basement of the building was very dirty and filled with a lot of old stuff that needed to be tossed.

Stephanie took the initiative to go by the property today and got the basement cleaned out. We had our clean-out guy meet her there to remove a whole truckload of "stuff". We will have potential new tenants visiting the property this weekend and if we showed them the basement, it needed to be improved and looking better for storage options. I did not have my digital camera with me but when I saw Stephanie with her mask on, I figured I just had to get a photo, so I used my blackberry !

It is important for Stephanie and I to maintain and build equity with all of our investment properties. Not just that, but we take pride in offering quality housing to people. If you own investment properties or even in regard to your primary residence, it always makes sense to constantly improve your properties as they are your investments. One of the best ways to do that, both financially and rewading, is through SWEAT-EQUITY !

I believe owning real estate is a fantastic way to plan for retirement. Imagine when you are 55 or 60 and you own 5 or 6 (or even 10) properties with no mortgage where you are collecting income and have substantial equity ! That is our minimum goal.

What is your experience with investment properties ?

Are you building sweat equity ?

*******************************************************************************

If interested in buying or selling properties in Philadelphia or building a portfolio of investment properties, contact Chris and Stephanie Somers at thesomersteam@yahoo.com or 215-400-2612 . You can connect with us on Facebook and Twitter . For investment properties, check out our new investor site at Philly Investor Hub !

The Somers - Philadelphia Real Estate - our main site

Search the MLS Properties Here in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

Click here to receive our Blog updates via email !

Areas of specialty include Northern Liberties, Old City, Center City, Fishtown, Graduate Hospital, Art Museum, Queen Village, Pennsport, Old Kenington, Port Richmond, Bridesburg, Society Hill, Loft District, Spring Garden and more !

This is not an Inclusion for this Old Kensington Listing !

We like to highlight and feature our sellers's furry friends as part of their listing. Abby loved the fact that we took many photos of her, but it took us awhile to get that one good shot ! Below is a great photo of Abby who protects her listing at 1312 Germantown Ave in Old Kensington !

For other photos of our clients pets, please click on the below:

Unexpected New Clients.... of the Furry Kind !

________________________________________________________

The Somers - Philadelphia Real Estate

Search the MLS Properties Here in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

Click here to receive our Blog updates via email !

HGTV. Flip That House. Step Aside ! Meet the real American Idols in Philadelphia.

I am referring to 2 clients that Chris and I helped purchase their first home in Old Kensington. We first met Ramona as she pulled up to us on her bike the day she became our tenant. A year later we met her partner Matt (www.mattdimon.com) and ended up helping them purchase their very first home, a huge distressed property a few blocks from the apartment.

Ramona and Matt were looking for something completely unique, a space that would serve as a working studio and a home. They opted for a FHA 203K loan program which is somewhat like a construction type loan. The buying process, unlike American Idol, was no song and dance. It was a challenging on many levels. As a condition of the loan, Matt and Ramona were required to do a lot of preliminary work, detailed planning and coordinate several professional contractor estimates. Plus the negotiations of the actual purchase proved to reveal an array of obstacles of which really tested our expertise as realtors. Ultimately, victory was ours and I have the pictures to prove it!

View Matt and Ramona's Home Transformation

Chris and I had no idea when we chose Real Estate as a career, that every day we would get to help so many "real people" live out the drama that has now become television's most watched programming. Even with the barrage of doom and gloom messages about our current housing market, a very one sided view that is prevailing in the media these days, we are inspired daily. It is because of that I want to continue to introduce to you our clients and their stories. It is through our clients that we can infuse images of strength, creativity, and possibility for those of you who are ready buy or sell a home in Philadelphia !

So, who is going to be our next American Idol ???

________________________________________________________

The Somers - Philadelphia Real Estate

The Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

Click here to receive our Blog updates via email !

If you are also interested in investment properties, view Philly Investor Hub powered by The Somers !

19122 makes up Old Kensington and Yorktown - Market Statistics

Contact Chris and Stephanie Somers at thesomersteam@yahoo.com for more information and market statisitcs and trends regarding Old Kensington and the Old Kensington / Yorktown real estate market.

From January 2008 though October 2008, there were 269 units listed, of which 65 went pending and 57 sold.

The average listing price was $204,300 and the average days on market is 78.

For the properties that have sold in Old Kensington, the average listing price was $154,176 and the average sold price was $132,656.

The current inventory is 147 properties. With the average being 5.7 properties selling per month, there are 25 months of inventory on the market.

Outlook: A lot of inventory remains on the market in Old Kensington (147 properties). A high percentage of the inventory is new construction, both houses and condominiums as well as high end rehabs. The area confuses a lot of investors as well as its consumers due to it's immediate vincinty to Northern Liberties. Since the sales are much higher in Northern Liberties there is speculation and belief that Old Kensington will play catch-up, thus the high level of development in the area. However, sellers did not foresee the market slowdown and in some cases, have over improved properties in the area which makes the short term uncertain. That being said, the longer term outlook is still excellent as the growth trend is still well intact. This is one of our favourite spots for investment in all of Philadelphia.

If you would like a free market evaluation of your home or are interested in purchasing in Old Kensington, contact Chris or Stephanie Somers at RE/MAX Affiliates at 215-400-2612 or email thesomersteam@yahoo.com. Also, view our Old Kensington listings. Look up 1000s of listings on our website as well as learning more about us. Also, please visit our blog !

Chris and Stephanie Somers Philadelphia Real Estate Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

click here to receive our blog updates via email !