Below are 3rd quarter highlights from Delta’s analysis of the Philadelphia apartment market.

Metro Area

  • The Philadelphia metro area’s stabilized Class A vacancy rate stands at only 2.8% – 90 basis points higher than the 1.9% rate registered at this time last year.
  • Vacancy increased over the year in the suburbs of both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and Center City vacancy has also increased slightly from last year at this time.
  • Suburban Pennsylvania vacancy is up 100 basis points compared to September 2011, at 2.8%. Vacancy in Southern New Jersey, at 3.9%, rose by 170 basis points from 2.2% at the end of third quarter 2011.
  • Vacancy in Center City is up 10 basis points to 1.9%.
  • The substate areas of Southern New Jersey and Suburban Pennsylvania experienced mixed rent conditions, showing overall rent change in the suburbs of negative 0.5% over the year with average effective rents at $1,405.
  • Rents in Center City performed the worst overall, with a decrease of 6.2% since last year at this time.  
  • Rent change in Suburban Pennsylvania was negative 1.1% since third quarter 2011, and Southern New Jersey increased by 0.9% over the same period.  Effective rents across the entire Philadelphia metro are at negative 1.9% over the past year.

For the metro as a whole: Average effective rental rates are $1,572.  Center City effective rents average $2,077 ($2.07 per SF) vs. $1,405 ($1.39 per SF) in the suburbs.

Pennsylvania Suburbs 

  • Effective rents in this area are down by 1.1% when compared to rents in the third quarter of 2011.
  • Stabilized vacancy is currently 2.8% compared to last year’s level at 1.8%. 
  • Concessions have risen slightly over the last year, from 0.5% of asking rent in the third quarter of 2011 to 1.2% in the current quarter.
  • Effective rents in Montgomery County are up 3.0% over the year and Chester and Delaware Counties experienced a decrease of 3.5%.
  • Bucks County performed at the same rate with rent declines of 3.5%.
  • Vacancy is currently the highest in Montgomery County at 3.3%.  
  • Vacancy is currently the lowest in Bucks County at 1.5%.
  • Chester and Delaware Counties have a vacancy rate of 1.5% at the end of the third quarter of 2012.