We’re excited, and deeply proud, to celebrate Philly Home Girls’ 15th birthday. We are grateful for our loyal community of clients and friends who have sustained our business for a decade and a half. Upon reflecting on this major milestone, there is one core belief that has guided us from day one: We believe wholeheartedly in homeownership.
Now feels like the right moment to share why that belief has guided every conversation, every showing, and every set of keys we’ve handed over.
ECONOMICS
For the vast majority of Americans, owning real estate remains the most accessible and reliable path to building long-term wealth. For most households, our primary residence is our wealth portfolio. In fact, home equity represents the largest proportion of wealth (34.5%) for U.S. households. Since property values increase with inflation, and often outpace it, your home’s value as an asset is preserved. In Philadelphia, real estate has long-term, stable growth. While year-to-year fluctuations are normal, the historical annual average appreciation rate is 6%.
The most recent Survey of Consumer Finances found that the average net wealth of homeowners is 400% higher than that of renters with similar income and demographics. If you don’t yet own real estate, please prioritize home ownership as your first wealth-building move.
PREDICTABILITY AND STABILITY
Unlike rent, your fixed-mortgage payments don’t rise. In the Philadelphia metro market, rents have risen 4.3% on average each year for the past 10 years. So one could be paying 43% more than they did 10 years ago to lease a home. As a homeowner, your monthly mortgage payment on a fixed-rate loan remains the same for the length of your loan, typically 30 years. This serves as a safeguard against inflation, in addition to allowing you to have predictability for financial planning. It also allows you a safety net if something unexpected happens. You are able to borrow against the equity in your home if needed.
Historically, Philadelphia home prices have been steady enough that even shorter-term owners (think two years) may be able to sell profitably. As rents continue to climb, selling a short-term purchase at a discount can be more advantageous than renting. Especially when you factor in:
Principal paydown
Potential appreciation
Tax advantages of homeownership
And the renewed deductibility of PMI
COMMUNITY
Dropping roots in one location gives you a chance to nurture and grow relationships you have with your neighbors, participate in neighborhood activities, and positively impact the people and environment around you. Studies have shown that homeownership increases civic and social engagement, which has a positive impact on communities.
At Philly Home Girls, our mission closely aligns with our brokerage, Elfant Wissahickon Realtors, in many meaningful ways. Together, we are committed to expanding sustainable homeownership across Philadelphia. We’re especially proud of the Building Equity Program, which provides up to $2,500 in grants exclusively to clients of our brokerage who buy or sell a primary residence priced under $250,000. Expanding homeownership strengthens Philadelphia as a whole so every time an agent within our brokerage sells a home, a portion is contributed to this fund, helping more Philadelphia residents build wealth through ownership.
In real estate, housing decisions shape neighborhoods for decades. It keeps wealth, opportunity, and stability rooted right here in Philadelphia. For us, this work has never been just about transactions. Our team, Philly Home Girls, and our brokerage, Elfant Wissahickon Realtors, are proud to be small, locally owned Philadelphia businesses. That means we are able to keep more tax dollars in the community, supporting schools, neighborhood infrastructure, and city services.
AFFORDABILITY
Compared to many major U.S. cities, Philadelphia continues to offer a rare advantage: Home prices have historically tracked much more closely with local incomes. In cities like New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, home prices have dramatically outpaced wage growth, putting ownership increasingly out of reach for middle-income households.
The Philadelphia story is quite different. While inventory and affordability challenges certainly exist, our market still provides real opportunities for first-time buyers, move-up buyers, and long-term investors in ways that many peer cities no longer do. That combo is increasingly rare, which is why Philly is so dear to our hearts.
Another win for Philly is the extensive homebuying grants and programs that first-time homebuyers have access to. There are so many programs to assist with down payments and closing costs. We adore them so much that we wrote an entire blog about them!
We Love People. We Love Houses. We Love Condos.
At the end of the day, data matters, strategy matters, and economics matter. But what truly fuels us is the moment when our clients meet their dream home. From there, we have the privilege of seeing clients through multiple major milestones like weddings, family expansion, pivots and promotions, relocations, and returns. That’s the beauty of a stable, livable housing market.
For 15 years, Philly Home Girls has believed that homeownership is one of the most powerful tools for financial stability, community investment, and personal freedom. That belief hasn’t wavered. If anything, we’re more passionate about it today than ever. Because when more Philadelphians own homes, neighborhoods stabilize, families build wealth, and cities thrive.
What do you do when you’ve inherited a house? How do you sell a home from a loved one’s estate? What will happen with your home after you pass away? These are common questions we get in this industry. To help answer them, we sat down with Steven Zelinger, an attorney that specializes in estate planning and probate.