The List of Lists: Property’s Top 5 List Posts of 2015

It was a big year for the Schuylkill River Trail | Image: Laura Kicey

Whether it’s our need know we’re the best or find out the exact number of where we’re the worst, it’s clear that Philly loves a list.

Let’s just say that 2015 didn’t disappoint. We had some monster rankings this year on Property, and we’ve hand-picked a few that we simply had to highlight once more.

The New York Times Shows Philly Some Serious Love:

Outside of the long-running pope rental post, no story was more popular on this here channel than the one where The New York Times listed Philly among its “52 Places to Go in 2015.” Interestingly enough, the reason wasn’t even pope related. Instead, the list focused on Philly as an “outdoor urban oasis” and pointed visitors specifically towards Dilworth Park, the Schuylkill Bank Boardwalk and our collection of pop up beer gardens and parks.

Schuylkill River Trail Takes Home Top Honors:

Though ultimately more of a poll than a straight up list, USA Today had readers vote on the Best Urban Trail in America this summer, and Philly’s own Schuylkill River Trail put a Rocky-like upset to take the top spot.

Narberth Ranked 10th Best ‘Burb in the Nation, Ahead of Beverly Hills:

Beverly Hills is known the world ’round for its opulent homes, pristine streets, Cop movies and high-end shopping. But you know what it doesn’t have? A better quality of life compared to nearby Narberth, according to Niche, a ranker site who named it as one of the Best Suburbs in America. We called it a head-scratcher at the time, but are the two really comparable in an apple-to-apple scenario?  We know one thing, we’re certainly proud of Narberth!

Narberth Ranked 9th Best ‘Burb of Philadelphia, Because Lists ¯\_(ツ)_/¯: 

Here’s the reason we take most, if not all, lists with a grain of salt. Movoto dropped some knowledge on us in March with this list of top suburbs in the Philadelphia region. Unsurprisingly, Devon, PA took the top spot. However, given what we learned from Niche (above) in May, it’s a slightly more than interesting that Narberth comes in at number 9. Ah, lists! So, let’s settle this once and for all, did this list get it right?

West Conshy Ranked “Best Suburb to a House in America” by Niche:

Like we said, Niche loves to put together a list or two. This one, Best Suburbs to Buy a House in America, tipped West Conshohocken as number one. In fact, out of over 11,300 towns in the ranking, 12 Philly ‘burbs broke through the top 100.

And one for good luck!

Dickinson Narrows Named 2nd “Hottest” ‘Hood in 2015 by Redfin:

This one was fun. The South Philadelphia neighborhood of Dickinson Narrows, which is actually called Dickinson Square West now, trailed only El Cerrito in San Diego on Redfin’s list of “Hottest Neighborhoods of 2015” based on an increasing number of pageviews on the real estate site.

The list was geared towards homebuyers seeking “value” and DSW, with a median sales price of $192,000 and average of 55 days on market, surprisingly topped NoLibs, Girard Estates, Fairmount and Kensington in Philadelphia, let alone nationally.