Yuriy 0:00

91 Days. That's three months of carrying cost, three months of mortgage payments, utilities, and taxes with zero rent coming in. And the cumulative days on market, meaning units that are relisted after not renting in the first time are sitting at 104 days. Now, contrast that with this. The median asking price in 19143 is 1,750, but the median price that leases are actually closing at 1,388. That is $362 gap. That tells you everything you need to know about What is happening in this ZIP code right now. and that brings me to the today's second topic, one I get questions about constantly from landlords across the city. How do you raise the rent the right way? not just legally, but strategically without blowing up your relationship with your tenant and putting yourself right back at that 91 vacancy nightmare. Because Here's the thing, in a market like 19143, raising rent the wrong way doesn't just cost you a tenant, it costs you months of income before you find next one. Let's get into it.

Speaker 3 1:16

We're here to share insights and experiences, not legal or accounting advice. Be sure to talk to your attorney, accountant, or professional advisor before making any decisions. Everyone's situation is different. Get the help that is right for you.

Yuriy 1:32

Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the Philly Landlord Guy the show where we give you real da- data-driven, no-fluff information on what's happening here in Philadelphia rental market, neighborhood by neighborhood, and provide you with updates on laws and other things that come in at us from city council. I'm your host, Yuriy Skripnichenko, the guy with the impossible last name. Just think of me as the Philly Landlord Guy. I am licensed real estate broker and certified property manager here in city of Philadelphia. Today, we're talking about West Philly, and the topic every landlord needs to understand going into a lease renewal session. Before we get into the numbers, a quick thank you to our sponsor, TrustArt Realty. If you're a landlord thinking about raising your rents this year, the worst thing you can do is guess. TrustArt Realty offers a free rental analysis so you know exactly what your property should be commanding in today's market. Not what you think, not what your neighbor thinks, but what the actual data says. Send us an email to trustartrealty@phillylandlordguy.com or go to trustartrealty.com and schedule that session. It is free, no pressure, no obligation. Now let's go to the data. Just a quick reminder where the Philadelphia as a whole stands on April 2026. Citywide, there were 2,542 new rental listings. end of month inventory sits at 4,283 units. Months of supply 3.4. The median listed price was $1,950. Median sold price was $1,768. Average days on the market, 65 days. The message is clear, we are in tenants market citywide. Supply is outpacing demand. landlords who are not pricing accurately and are sitting vacant. That's the backdrop of for everything that we're going to talk about today. Now let's zoom in to one nine one four three Let me give you a real picture of the ZIP code because one nine one four three is one of the most misunderstood investment areas in the city. The ZIP code covers a large area of West Philadelphia, primarily the Kensington neighborhood, Cedar Park, and parts of Spruce Hill. It sits about four miles southwest of Center City, borders with University City to the north, which means parts of the ZIP code are a short walk or bike ride from Penn and Drexel. to the south, it connects toward Southwest Philly. Baltimore Avenue and Chester Avenue are the main commercial corridors running through the ZIP code. This is an old neighborhood, and I mean that in the best way. the median construction year for homes in Kensington is 1938. About 63% of the housing stock in this area was built before 1940. You are looking at the classic Philadelphia row homes, twin homes, and small apartment buildings, brick construction, deep lots, in some cases, porch fronts. These are solid structures with characters, but, and this matters older housing stock require active maintenance. If you're not staying on top of repairs, you will feel that in your vacancy numbers and your insurance costs as well. the population of the broader Kensington area is around 62,000 residents. The median age is 32. This is a young community. The split between owners and renters is almost 50/50. Which tells you that there is an active rental market here, but also a community of owner occupants who care about their blocks. The median household income here is approximately $47,900 below the city median, below the state average. This is a working class to low middle class tenant base. What that means practically, your tenants are price sensitive. They're not choosing between your unit or a luxury apartment. They are choosing between your units and the next row home on the block. Conditions and price are everything. This zip code uses public transit at one of the highest rates in the county. Your tenants are riding SEPTA, the 34 trolley on Baltimore Avenue, the 13 on Chester, bus routes connecting to the L. Here, the proximity to public stops possibly mean more than parking However, the vacancy rate in parts of the zip code is notably high. Some data puts vacancy in Kingsessing West at nearly 25%. This is not a seasonal blip. This is a chronic condition in certain blocks, which means for investors, block selection matters a lot in this zip code, as well as across the city, but specifically here. A well-maintained property on a strong block will perform. A property on a block with multiple vacant or distressed properties will struggle regardless of what you charge. Before you buy anything in 19143, use Philadelphia Atlas tool at atlas.phila.gov to check active L&I violations on surrounding properties, so this way you can learn your block and know what's happening. Here is what makes 19143 interesting despite the challenges. The median home values are low in the $113,000 to $118,000 range Depending on the sub-neighborhood. Entry prices for investors are accessible, and proximity to University City creates a dual-tenant market. If you have working families in the southern parts of the ZIP Code, and you have students and university-adjacent workers in the northern parts near Spruce Hill and Cedar Park, those are two different tenant profiles with different needs and different price expectations. The Cedar Park and Spruce Hill pocket near Baltimore Avenue and Clark Park is generally desirable, walkable, good transit, close to university ecosystems. Properties in that northern section of 19143 can command higher rents than the southern Kensington blocks. In April, there were 43 units listed and 32 units rented. That means only 74% of what hit the market actually rented. Compare that to 19149 that we were talking about on last episode, where we saw more units rented than list. This is a different animal. End of the month inventory, 73 units. Months of supply, 2.5. It's actually higher than the city median which tells you that new supply keeps coming, but the existing pipeline is moving slowly. Listed median price, $1,750. Rented median, $1,388. Average rented price, $1,450. That $362 gap between ask and close is the single most important number in this report. Landlords in 19143 are consistently overpricing more than 20%, and this is huge. I see this consistently across the city of Philadelphia in general, that landlords are overpricing, and this is maybe normal because people are trying to get more for the properties that they own. However, that hits your bottom number, and let me put that in perspective. the citywide average is 65 days. 19143 is running 26 days slower than the city average. And That is brutal for your carrying cost. May 2026 current inventory already up to 86 units at a median listed price of $1,547. Supply is building. If you have a unit coming available in 19143, you need to price it right from day one. The bottom line on 19143, this is a zip code with a real opportunity for the right investor, low entry cost dual tenant market, transit reach. But it is unforgiving to landlords who overprice or under-maintain. The data makes that crystal clear. All right. Let's talk about the topic every landlord thinks about, but nobody explains properly. How do you raise rent without creating a disaster? And I want to frame this conversation With what we just looked at in 19143. If your unit is currently rented and your tenant is paying on time, maintaining the property and causing you zero headaches, you need to think very careful before you do anything that puts that at risks, because in this market, replacing that tenant could take you 91 days and cost you thousands. That said, rents go up, your costs go up, taxes go up, maintenance goes up. Insurance has been brutal lately. You have a right to raise rent. The question is how to do it correctly, legally, and strategically. So step number one, know the law. Philadelphia has specific notice requirement that go beyond Pennsylvania state law, and a lot of landlords getting this wrong. Here's what Philadelphia code requires. For leases of one year or longer, you must give your tenant at least 60 days written notice before the rent increases takes effect. For leases shorter than one year, you must give at least 30 days written notice. So again, if your lease is one year or longer, you have to give at least 60-day notice, and for leases shorter than one year, you must give at least 30 days written notice. The notice must be in writing, not a text, not a verbal conversation. If you do not follow this, the rent increase is not legally enforceable. The tenant can challenge it and stay at the old rent. So step two, understand the new retaliation risk. This is where the Safe Healthy Home Act, which I covered in the last episode, comes directly into the rent increase conversation. Under the new law, which takes effect November 1st, retaliation now includes a much broader set of action. If a tenant has recently filed a complaint against the property or against you, requested repairs, organized with neighbors, or communicated with government officials about conditions of your property, and you then raise their rent significantly, that could be characterized as retaliation. I'm not saying do not raise rent. I'm saying document everything. Make sure your rent increase is based on documented market data, not timed suspiciously after a tenant complaint about something. Keep records of your reasoning and keep records of everything that you do with your tenants, that you tell them, that they tell you, what you signed with them. A simple note in your file saying, "Rent increase based on market trade review comparable units in the renting at X amount of money will go a long way if you ever need to defend yourself. Step three, price against the market, not against your cost. This is one of the most common problems that we're dealing with landlords, And this is the mindset shift that most landlords need. Your mortgage, your taxes, your insurance, the tenant doesn't care about any of that. The market doesn't care about any of that. The market only cares about what comparable units are renting for. look at what we just saw in 19143. the median sold price, which is rent price, is 1388. If your tenant is currently paying $1,350 and you try to raise them to $1,750 because that's what I see listed, you are pricing against the listed median, not the closed median. And we know those listings are sitting for 91 days. Price against what is actually closing, not what landlords are wishing for. A reasonable defensible rent increase in most Philadelphia neighborhoods right now hovering around 3%. It may not be enough to offset your cost increases, but also it's not as much of an increase that will trigger a vacancy in your property. Step four, have conversation before you send a notice. This is one landlords almost never do, and it makes a huge difference. Before you send the formal written notice, have a brief conversation with your tenant in person, by the phone, by email, whatever way you communicate with them. Tell them, I want to give you a heads up. I'm going to be sending you a formal rent increase notice. Here's what I'm looking at and why, and I want to make sure you have time to plan." That conversation does three things. One, it signals respect. Two, it gives you a read on whether the tenant is planning to renew or already thinking about leaving. And three, if the tenant has concerns or wants to negotiate, you handle it privately before the formal process starts. A good tenant who feels respected is far more likely to sign lease renewal with a modest increase. And a good tenant who gets a lease increase with no warning Is far more likely to start looking somewhere else, even if the increase is reasonable. Step five, offer renewal incentive when appropriate. In a market like 19143, where vacancy is running 91 days, the math on the tenant retention is stark. So let's say your tenant is paying $1350 and you want to raise to $1400. This is a $50 per month increase, which is about $600 per year. Now, let's say the tenant leaves instead. You're vacant for 91 days. At $1400 per month, that's about $4200 in lost rent, and that's only in lost rent. Add to it cleaning, painting any turnover that you need to do to get the property rent ready. You're looking at least $5,000 to $7,000 in total turnover cost for a $600 annual gain. The math almost never works in a slow market Which is why in certain situation it makes more sense to offer a renewal with small increase or even a flat renewal in exchange for long lease term. It's often a better outcome than pushing for 1450 and watching them leave Step six, get it right on paper. once you've agreed on new rent amount and the tenant is renewing, do not just shake hands or be happy and start charging the new rent. Issue a formal lease renewal or addendum that clearly states the new rent, the new term, the effective date, and that it supersedes any prior agreement on rent. Both party signs it. You keep a copy. You don't have to sign a new lease. An addendum to a lease for renewal is enough. And this is your protection under the new four-year statute of limitation in the Safe Healthy Home Act. Just make sure that you have all of your records straight and you keep them in a place where you can always find them and access them. So Here's what we have today. 19143 is a zip code with a real investment potential, low entry cost, proximity to University City, a young and transit-dependent tenant base, but it's a market that punishes overpricing and neglect. The 91 days on the market and the $362 gap between ask and close are not random. They are the direct results of landlords pricing based on hope rather than data. Priced at $1,388 to $1,450 Present a clean, well-maintained unit and you will outperform the average. Price at $1,750 and join the three months vacancy club. On rent increases do it legally, do it respectfully do it based on market data and document everything. In 2026 was the SAFE Healthy Home Act in play a poorly handled rent increase is not just a business mistake, but it could be a legal one. If you want a free rental analysis contact TrustArt Realty at trustartrealty@phillylandlordguy, or go to trustartrealty.com and schedule that session. If you like this information leave us a review, leave a comment, ask what you want us to cover in the next episode. Share it with a fellow landlord And subscribe so you don't miss the next neighborhood deep dive. Keep your properties clean, stay legal, and I'll catch you in the next episode