Real Estate Trends for 2024: The Great Downsizing
From boomers seeking smaller abodes to the hottest zip codes in the region, here’s what’s happening in real estate this year.
Philly’s real estate trends for 2024 include Baby Boomers opting for smaller homes. / Photo-illustration by C.J. Burton
Don’t look now, but baby boomers are flexing their financial might and dominating the real estate market, snatching up smaller homes left and right. Here’s what’s driving the trend.
Boomers Are Downsizing — and Dominating Philly’s Real Estate Market
Real estate trends for the year: the great downsizing. / Photo-illustration by C.J. Burton
Take a walk through the Laurel, the recently completed luxury condo tower at Rittenhouse Square’s northwest corner, and you might mistake it for a retirement community.
When you consider how many aging baby boomers call it home, that makes sense.
As of the end of January, 60 percent of the Laurel’s 65 condos had been sold. And 65 percent of those buyers were baby boomers.
The baby-boom generation has been the pig in the demographic python ever since World War II GIs and their wives made like rabbits the moment the warriors returned home. And as that cohort has aged, it has shaped and reshaped the way Americans live. From mass-produced suburbs like Levittown aimed at their parents to more upscale suburbs targeted at them as they rose through the workforce, the boomers have had their needs, desires, tastes and preferences determine what our communities look like.
That’s certainly been the case locally. And though the boomers are done raising families and are exiting the workforce, they’re still reshaping the way we live. Or, at least, reshaping the way they live. Keep reading …
Looking to Downsize? Here’s How These Philly Homeowners Did It
Photograph by Colin Lenton
Merging Two Chestnut Hill Households Into One Center City Condo: Amy Small-McKinney and Robert Rossman
Small-McKinney is a poet, writer, former journalist, teacher and counselor. Rossman is a retired computer programmer.
Moved From: His large 2,032-square-foot five-bedroom Victorian twin house and Amy’s modest 1,000-square-foot two-bedroom apartment in Chestnut Hill
To: A 1,209-square-foot two-bedroom condo in Washington Square West, purchased in the fall of 2023 for $362,500
Both wanted to be closer to the attractions and activities of Center City. And Rossman knew they needed to live on one floor rather than in a sprawling house like his. So they scouted condos around Washington Square before finally settling on the Center City One unit they moved into. One reason they chose it: The building is pet-friendly. The couple share their space with Rossman’s dog, a Havanese named Dudley. Keep reading …
Philly Pros Share Design and Renovation Tips to Sell Your Home Faster
Selling your house? These design and renovation tips can help.
As Philly boomers downsize to smaller abodes, their larger family homes are increasingly idling on the market. But there are a number of ways that sellers can guarantee a swift sale with a little planning.
“Different houses need different things,” says Christina Henck, founder of Philadelphia interior design firm Henck Design. “It’s important to consider the age and style of the home, among other factors, before making changes.” That doesn’t always mean gutting the kitchen to increase the value and marketability of your property, despite traditional thinking. Often, you can easily transform the space with new materials. Keep reading …
Emptying the Nest: How to Get Rid of Your Stuff Before You Move
Time to declutter! Here’s how. / Photograph by Karolina Grabowska
So it’s time to move out of the beloved family abode, but the only thing you’ve tossed out in all these years is the kids? You need to purge, and fast.
But decluttering a home full of memories is a demanding task, even if you’re not clinging to a trove of knickknacks and that dining table from the ’70s. Professionals and DIYers agree: It can be a labor-intensive, decision-heavy process. They also agree: It doesn’t have to be that way. Keep reading …
The State of the Market: House Prices Throughout the Region
How have house prices for the Greater Philadelphia area changed this year? / Photograph by Jumping Rocks/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
After more than a year of interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, the real estate market went into a tailspin in 2023. Home sales dropped precipitously just about everywhere in the region as buyers balked at costlier mortgages and sellers stayed put for the same reason. The slowdown hit the upper end of the market the hardest, while agents we spoke with reported that mid-priced and less expensive homes continued to sell, if not as briskly as in 2022.
Here’s our searchable town-by-town price and sales report for the eight-county Greater Philadelphia area. Keep reading …
Published as “Real Estate 2024: The Great Downsizing!” in the March 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
