Columbus Investment Property

Bucking A Trend, Sales Of Rental Units Climb.

Wall Street Journal July 25, 2007
By MAURA WEBBER SADOVI

The Philadelphia region, which doesn't typically
out perform many other U.S. commercial
real-estate markets, has seen rising demand
for its apartment-rental complexes
even as sales have slumped nationally.
The total value of rental units sold in the
Delaware Valley based on deals valued at $1
million or more rose about 19%to about $1.1
billion in 2006 from 2005, according to Hessam
Nadji, managing director of research
services for Marcus & Millichap Real Estate
Investment Services. The region is on track
this year to exceed last year's volume based
on the first-quarter deals valued at $426.5
million, he says.
The rise in Philadelphia-area apartment
sales bucks the nationwide trend, which saw
volume fall about 23%in the first quarter
from the year earlier to $22.4 billion after
standing roughly flat in 2006 from 2005, according to
Encino, Calif. based Marcus & Millichap.
In Philadelphia the number of transactions
rose 21%in 2006 from a year earlier,
while transaction levels fell in such metropolitan
areas as San Jose, Calif. and Orlando, Fla.
Like much of the area's real estate, Philadelphia-
area apartment complexes appeal to
Northeastern bargain hunters. Median prices
for rental-apartment units based on deals valued
at more than $5 million in the first quarter
were $109,269in Philadelphia compared
with $381,254in Manhattan and $316,251in
Washington, D.C., according to Real Capital
Analytics, a New York-based real-estate research
firm. That helps to, off set the prospect
for rising but unexceptional apartment rents.
Many buyers are also betting that Philadelphia
rentals are better positioned going forward
than in some other markets that have
drawn investors buying condominiums they
don't plan on livingin. Assuch, Philadelphia's
apartment market is steadier than markets
where some fear unsold condominiums will
be repositioned as rentals, analysts say.
Still, there are signs that the condominium
market is softening. This year through
June, sales of condominiums for the greater
Philadelphia region composed of 13primary
counties fell 4.7%to 4,159 though the median
sales price rose to $205,000, according
to the TREND multiple listing service in King
of Prussia, Pa.
First-quarter Philadelphia-area apartment,
office, retail and warehouse rents were
below national levels, largely due to the region's
below-average job and population
growth, according to Property &Portfolio Research
Inc., a Boston-based real-estate research
firm. However, despite the construction
of many new condos in recent years and
the development of the Comcast Center office
tower, the amount of planned construction is
low, which is expected to keep apartment and
office vacancies stable, PPR says.
The region boasts a growing education and
health-services sector, but its shrinking manufacturing
base has helped keep job growth at
0.6% in June from last year, well below the
1.4%rate nationally, according to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, the area's population
rose just 0.1%in 2006 to 3.9 million, below
the national rate of 1%, according to
Moody's Economy.com. The city of Philadelphia
is also struggling to combat crime as the
total number of murders has risen in recent
years to 406 in 2006 from 288 in 2002, according
to Captain Benjamin Naish of the Philadelphia
Police Department.
While Philadelphia has seen its overall population
decline, its downtown Center City
area has attracted more restaurants and residents,
in part by offering tax abatements. The
state has also made a bid to bring in more revenue
with the approval of licenses for two separate
casinos to operate along the waterfront.

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Steve Morbitzer

Bucking A Trend, Sales Of Rental Units Climb.

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