[3rd&Brown]

The narrative in this article is so interesting. It assumes that all this movement is people leaving Philly to live in the burbs because they don't have to commute. That can be true, but it also assumes they're not being replaced. Thousands of people are moving to Philadelphia (city) as a more accessible and affordable version of their past lives in NYC/DC/LA etc. i.e. it assumes those who leave are not being replaced.

The other reason why it falls a bit flat IMO is because there is almost no inventory and very little new construction in the suburbs. If nothing is for sale, where are these people moving? I can count on one hand the number of new housing developments in all of western Delaware County. Franklin Station, which is the biggest, has something like 4 units left out of 300+ homes. There's a sizeable new development in Edgmont called Ventry. It also has only 3 unsold homes. The massive Toll project in Newtown Square (Licester) finished years ago at this point. Everything else is tiny by comparison (i.e. 10-20 homes). There's a new "neighborhood" in Garnet Valley near my parent's house called Garnet Pointe that has something like 14 lots from $1+MM. They sold out in months, even in this interest rate environment. The latter is typical of what's being built right now.