Paul Levy, president and chief executive officer of the Center City District, said the second-quarter condo sales demonstrated the "extraordinary resiliency" of downtown Philadelphia through the recession, "with housing values holding up very well even if the volume of sales [overall] has slowed down."
"But the demand for properties in all price ranges remains strong, and in the neighborhoods south of South Street and north of Spring Garden Street, individual renovation and new construction is continuing, primarily in the single-family market," he said.
In most of the 200 condominium locations, there were one to three sales. But Toll Bros.' Naval Square accounted for 66 sales in the second quarter, the most recorded at any one site. Many were flats in Naval Square's Pemberton Collection, part of the $100 million complex's second phase, senior project manager Nancy Pillon said.
"Sales were very strong for Pemberton, and simultaneously we began offering townhouse condominiums with garages underneath, as well as expanded garages," Pillon said. "It was a nice mix."
The flats started in the $300,000 range. Deeds show that prices of the Naval Square units sold ranged from $325,000 to more than $700,000.
The recently expired federal tax credits played a role in sales to first-time buyers, who mentioned it "when they asked about closing dates," Pillon said. Sales contracts had to be signed by April 30 for qualified first-timers to receive up to $8,000.
Still, Gillen said, a large percentage of the units sold in the second quarter were "either priced beyond what the tax credit allows" or purchased by "households who make more income than what the credit allows."
"So you can't attribute the large sales volume to the expiration of the tax credit this spring, like you can for single-family homes," he said.
