Yuriy 0:00

The Philly rental market is hitting a massive turning point. Today I'm breaking down the raw data for March, 2026. Zoom in on the 1 9 1 4 1 zip code with demographic stats that will change the way you see the area and explaining why local property owners are officially taking city council to court for alleged secret meetings.

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Yuriy 0:48

​Hi everyone and welcome back to the Philly Landlord Guy, the show where we do a deep dive into the local real estate market without any of the fluff. You host Yuriy Skripnichenko, the guy with the alphabet surplus name. Just remember me as your Philly landlord guy. I am a licensed real estate broker and certified property manager here in Philadelphia. Today is one of our solo pieces where I will bring you report on national rent drops. And the new inspection program that about to hit Philadelphia, landlords write in the pocketbook before we'll look at our own backyard. We'll have to look at the country. A recent report from USA Today and realtor.com confirms that we are now in the 29th straight month of year over year brand declines for small units, specifically zero to two bedroom properties across the US. Nationally asking rents deep by about 1.5%. Recently, we are officially in renter friendly market in the Philadelphia metro area, the median asking rent fell to 1722, which is a 2.2% decline compared to the last year. Why does this matter to you? Because while your income is flattening or falling, your costs are going up. This brings me to a major update from WHYY reading, Philadelphia's Proactive Rental Inspection program. For years, Philly used an honor system for rental licenses. So if you pay your. Rental license fee, check the box and you got your paper. Not anymore. The city is expanding the Proactive rental inspection program. That means that l and i now is looking into require a physical inspection or every your rental unit before you can get or renew your rental license. So right now it's a pilot program, but they're looking to expand it and if they do, they will. Look to put it on a four year rotation, so within four year, they want to be able to inspect every rental unit in the city of Philadelphia. So now, if you own property in city of Philadelphia, the easy days of automated renewals are over. You need to get your properties and inspection registered now to make sure that you will be able to pass those inspections when they hit your door. Now let's look at the actual March, 2026 data for the city of Philadelphia. Across the whole city. We saw 2,456 New units hit the market. The listed median price was 1,850, but look at the sold median price. The price tenants actually signed for was 1675. That is a$175 gap. Landlords are still hope pricing their units and the market is smacking them right back down. If you are overpricing your unit by 200, you aren't just losing that money, you're losing time. The average this on the market for the city as whole. Right now is 67 days. That is over two months of no income. If you cannot cover two months of mortgage and taxes between the tenants, you need to reevaluate your cash reserves immediately. Now, let's zoom in on one nine. 1 4, 1. This zip code covers Logan Ogontz and Frock neighborhoods. This is a massive area with a population about 33,832 people. The median household income here is about$43998. About 56% of households earn under$50,000 a year. This is a definition of a working class area. The priority rate is high, roughly about 30%, and for the tenant base you are looking for long-term stable families who. Prioritize affordability. Only 10% of residents here have bachelor's degree. So do not over improve your property with luxury finishes in this neighborhood. Their income may not support that. So what do we see in March, 2026? Data in MLS for the area that the listed median price was 1350. The sold median price was$1,200 days on the market. 44. The 1 9 1 4 1 is moving 23 days faster than the rest of the city. Why? Because there, there is a huge demand for housing at that 1200 price point. However, we ended March with 31 units in inventory, for 19141 last year at this time, there were only 18 units. Supply has nearly doubled in a year with more supply and those new proactive inspections coming, you have to stand out. Clean the common areas, paint the front door and make sure your property is a hundred percent compliant. Now the most important news, local landlords are fighting back. You've heard me talk about couple new bills coming our way from city council legislation that would change the way how we handle our business and how we able to terminate a lease even if it's one year lease. So several members of HAPCO, which is Homeowners Association of Philadelphia, have officially sued the City Council's Housing Committee, the lawsuits alleges a violation of the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act. Essentially, the committee is accusing of holding secret meetings to reach discussions behind closed doors before ever letting the public speak at the hearings. There was a temporary settlement that delayed the vote on the bills, but the fight is far from over. Landlords testified that those bills will force us to raise rent prices and to raise screening standards so high that the better people that a city is trying to protect will hurt and won't be able to afford or get that housing this legal battle is being funded by property owners like you and I. For the full disclosure, I am not associated with HAPCO. And however, they established a legal action fund specifically to fight these bad actor bills. If you want to protect your right to manage your own property, go to https://hapcophiladelphia.com/legal-action-fund/ and contribute what you can. Even 50 or a hundred dollars can help our community. And I also will drop the link in the notes so we can just click the link and shout them before we wrap up. I want to thank our sponsor, TrustArt Realty managing rentals in 2026. It's not longer a side hassle with the citywide based market at 60 days and new product inspection hitting the city. You need the professional partners who knows the rules and knows how to manage trust. Our realty is offering to all of our listeners a free rental analysis or a management advice session. If you are sitting on a vacancy in 1 9 1 4 1 or anywhere else in the city and you do not know why, email us at trustartrealty@phillylandlordguy.com or go to trustartrealty.com and schedule that call. That's it for the cps. National rents are falling fill days on the market is up and the city is getting stricter with the inspections. Stay informed, stay compliant, and keep your books clean. Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, or any platform where you're listening. I'm Yuriy Skripnichenko and I'll catch you next time.