Price History
Median Home Price
Median Rent
Stored observations from 2016-07-31 to 2026-06-29. Source: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI. Missing rents are shown as gaps.
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Purchase
Monthly Cash Flow
* Based on metro-wide median values. 35% expenses include taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, and property management. Individual counties and properties vary significantly.
Score Breakdown
Based on 5.88% rent-to-price ratio. Higher ratios indicate stronger cash flow potential.
Based on 3.0% YoY price growth. Moderate growth (3-8%) scores highest.
Based on 0.0% population growth. Growing areas indicate economic stability.
Based on price relative to estimated local incomes.
Scores are calculated using real Zillow metro-level home value and rent data, Census population data, and economic indicators. The weighted average produces the overall investment score. This metro score represents area-wide averages; individual counties may vary significantly.
Investment Outlook
Strengths
- +Low unemployment (0.0%)
Challenges
- -Negative cash flow at typical financing (-$919/mo)
- -Negative leverage (cap rate 3.8% < mortgage rate 7.4%)
Counties in Philadelphia, PA
Section 8 in Philadelphia, PA: payment standards by ZIP, PHA waitlist status, and voucher counts are on VoucherMatch, the same HUD dataset with the tenant demand side attached.
Compare to Similar Metros
| Metro Area | Verdict | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Muscatine, IA Muscatine, IA | 78 | $203,082 | Est. | Strong Buy | View | ||
Danville, IL Danville, IL | 78 | $99,458 | $891 | 10.75% | Strong Buy | View | |
Grenada, MS Grenada, MS | 78 | $132,409 | Est. | Strong Buy | View | ||
Spencer, IA Spencer, IA | 78 | $195,413 | Est. | Strong Buy | View | ||
Selma, AL Selma, AL | 78 | $90,709 | Est. | Strong Buy | View | ||
Current Philadelphia, PA | 58 | $390,463 | $1,914 | 5.88% | Hold |
Rent vs buy in this metro
The Bottom Line
The Philadelphia, PA metro area scores 58/100, ranking #572 of 894 US metros (top 64%). The 5.88% rent-to-price ratio may require targeting specific counties or creative strategies for positive cash flow. Current metro-wide averages make traditional buy-and-hold investing challenging. Consider house hacking, value-add strategies, or drilling down to specific counties.