R5Realty News and Notes

Market Snapshots and Commentary on Value and Quality of life along the former Main Line of the Pennsylvania Rail Road, up until recently called the R5 Line, and now officially known as the Paoli /Thorndale line. R5Realty runs from Center City Philadelphia through the walkable, Westward outlying Towns & Townships.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Philadelphia Home Prices for April: Center City West and Art Museum Neighborhoods

City Hall's clock still punctuates Philadelphia's skyline after dark.

Below are Philadelphia condominiums and houses which sold in April  for under $1 Million. This monthly market sales capture is limited to homes in the western part of Center City, as well as the Art Museum Area.
Note the Last Price, indicated below, was the final listed price before the property went under contract. In many cases, the Original Price was much higher.


Street AddressBedBathLast PriceSold ForNeighborhood
2601 Pennsy Ave 100411$169,900 $169,900 Art Museum
2601 Pennsy Ave 61011$189,000 $178,000 Art Museum
2401 Pennsy Ave 18C5011$205,000 $180,000 Art Museum
761 N Taylor St21$299,000 $285,150 Art Museum
2001 Hamilton St 90912$310,000 $310,000 Art Museum
2401 Pennsy Ave 6B2122$379,000 $350,000 Art Museum
2012 Green St31.1$399,900 $350,000 Art Museum
2001 Hamilton St 32411$212,900 $192,500 Art Museum 
2218 Ogden St21.1$299,000 $280,000 Art Museum 
770 N Bucknell St21.1$289,500 $287,000 Art Museum 
2401 Pennsy Ave 17C4722$359,000 $320,000 Art Museum 
1420 Locust St 23C11$249,900 $230,000 Avenue Arts
1500 Chestnut St 11B22$409,000 $405,000 Avenue Arts
1420 Locust St 17K32.1$499,999 $462,500 Avenue Arts
1425 Locust St 17C22.1$649,900 $622,200 Avenue Arts
2202 Pine St 10211$324,000 $324,740 Fitler Square
212-24 S 24th St 2430A22$398,500 $360,000 Fitler Square
2419 Pine St33$474,900 $452,000 Fitler Square
336 S 24th St32.1$525,000 $495,000 Fitler Square
2413 Pine St32$649,000 $585,000 Fitler Square
2225 Pine St32$650,000 $615,000 Fitler Square
2025 Arch St B11$169,000 $145,000 Logan Square
102 N 21st St A32.1$374,999 $374,900 Logan Square
2301 Cherry St 4J32.1$389,900 $375,000 Logan Square
2107 Cherry St22$439,000 $387,500 Logan Square
100 N 21st St B32.1$475,000 $455,000 Logan Square
1919 Chestnut St 82301$100,000 $110,000 Rittenhouse Sq
2101-17 Chestnut St 72401$139,500 $124,700 Rittenhouse Sq
1919 Chestnut St 132301$149,000 $125,000 Rittenhouse Sq
2101-17 Chestnut St 61611$199,000 $190,000 Rittenhouse Sq
1500 Chestnut St 10E11$244,900 $240,000 Rittenhouse Sq
1919 Chestnut St 50622$260,000 $244,000 Rittenhouse Sq
1600-18 Arch St 171511$309,900 $305,000 Rittenhouse Sq
1600-18 Arch St 141511$324,900 $306,000 Rittenhouse Sq
1600-18 Arch St 191611$330,000 $315,000 Rittenhouse Sq
1931 Spruce St 1B11$375,000 $340,000 Rittenhouse Sq
1919 Chestnut St 260821$374,900 $350,000 Rittenhouse Sq
1919 Chestnut St 260522$399,000 $380,000 Rittenhouse Sq
2024 Spruce St 511.1$399,000 $392,500 Rittenhouse Sq
2101 Market St 340511$470,000 $437,500 Rittenhouse Sq
341 S Hicks St32$535,000 $520,000 Rittenhouse Sq
1901 Walnut St 7C22.1$649,500 $605,000 Rittenhouse Sq
1725 Delancey Pl 222.1$695,000 $660,000 Rittenhouse Sq
2215 Pine St43$785,000 $735,000 Rittenhouse Sq
1617 Spruce St 20022.1$787,900 $766,500 Rittenhouse Sq

Monday, May 2, 2011

The Rock Sculpture Ruminations of a Narberth Real Estate Agent

One of many pleasantly-vexing, Main Line Rock Sculptures
Leaving the General Wayne Inn,  I passed by the Lankenau Hamper Shop  and noticed a man doing some maintenance on the small rock sculpture steps from Montgomery Avenue. For at least a year or so, these pint-sized megaliths - which are scattered throughout R5/Main Line-area neighborhoods and environs - have been a source of pleasant vexation for me.

I've always imagined these stone mini-strosities might have been inspired by the Delaware Valley's Welsh settlement roots. As noted in Wikipedia, The Main Line area was first resettled by Europeans in the 1600s, when William Penn sold a tract of land, called the Welsh Tract, to a group of Welsh Quakers for ten cents an acre. This accounts for the many Welsh place-names in the area, as well as some the Welsh-related traditions, including that of creating large piles of stones or boulders, like the one gracing the hillside and demarcating the Radnor exit to I-476.

Blue Route cairn is Smaller.
These man-made heaps of stone, also called Cairns, have been a mainstay in Wales for hundreds and hundreds of years. Some were created as landmarks or guideposts for travelers, some are property-line or burial markers, and some may even have astronomical significance. What motive, I wondered, could the middle-aged man on Montgomery Avenue have behind his mini-liths?


Turns out a handful of local newspapers and bloggers have already Uncovered The Story  behind these sculptures, which grace several train stations and at least one excellent sushi restaurant in Lower Merion and Radnor Townships. Ed Bassner, a longtime Wynnewood resident and local dentist, is the man who creates and maintains these delightful stone creations. Bassner told the Main Line Times that no motivation, historical, cultural, or anything other than purely aesthetic, are imbuing his efforts.

 But there are wonderful stories related to the location, creation and maintenance of each funky, contemporary Cairn, and Bassner shares them on his very entertaining blog and photo gallery,  Rock Sculptures.

Bassner's forms may not possess the gravity of a Stonehenge - or the backstory and unfortunate tradition of sneakers hanging from telephone wires - but his work and dedication exude a sense of grace and elegance that is timeless, mysterious, peaceful and fun.




Sunday, May 1, 2011

Narberth & Lower Merion Home Prices for April 2011

Suburban Square in Bloom. Five Ardmore homes sold this April from 100-345k.
Below are the Lower Merion and Narberth homes which sold in April 2011 for less than one million dollars.
Many of these homes are located within minutes of Ardmore's elegant Suburban Square, which opened in 1928 and is widely regarded as the first shopping center in the country.

Note:  The "Last Price" indicated below was the list price just before each home went under contract. In many cases, the original listing price of the home was much higher to start.


Street AddressCity/StationBedsBathsLast PriceSold For
114 Elm AveArdmore31.0$124,800$100,000
130 E Spring AveArdmore41.0$199,900$186,500
32 Holland AveArdmore52.1$314,900$300,000
212 Cobblestone DrArdmore32.1$354,900$335,000
223 Cobblestone DrArdmore32.1$345,000$345,000
736 Conshohocken State RdBala Cynwyd31.1$164,900$140,000
41 Conshohocken St 107Bala Cynwyd22.0$150,000$150,000
147 Pencoyd AveBala Cynwyd31.1$259,900$252,500
191 Presidential Blvd R1005Bala Cynwyd22.0$349,000$318,000
511 Cynwyd CirBala Cynwyd32.1$400,000$383,000
515 Oxford RdBala Cynwyd32.1$450,000$425,000
57 Academy RdBala Cynwyd33.1$529,000$475,000
1047 Floyd TerBryn Mawr31.0$199,900$181,000
845 Summit Grove AveBryn Mawr51.2$299,999$225,000
127 Pennsylvania AveBryn Mawr53.1$529,000$529,000
1054 Broadmoor RdBryn Mawr44.1$700,000$690,000
801 Black Rock RdGladwyne43.0$659,000$635,000
541 Conshohocken State RdGladwyne53.1$749,000$701,000
1425 Colton RdGladwyne54.1$857,777$775,000
237 W Montgomery Ave 3NHaverford11.1$155,999$148,000
264 W Montgomery Ave 302Haverford32.0$304,900$280,000
100 Llanalew Rd 1AHaverford42.1$310,000$285,000
566 Haverford RdHavertown32.1$269,000$269,000
358 Winding WayMerion Station43.1$499,900$475,000
518 Anthwyn RdMerion Station53.1$649,000$620,000
125 Merion AveNarberth31.0$269,000$225,000
2 Stuart AveNarberth31.1$359,500$335,000
203 Forrest AveNarberth52.0$425,000$425,000
1637 Oakwood Dr S212Penn Valley22.0$249,000$223,000
414 S Woodbine AvePenn Valley42.1$359,000$365,000
1339 Bobarn DrPenn Valley42.1$599,900$556,000
1306 N Spring Mill RdVillanova42.2$649,000$635,000
262 Trent RdWynnewood32.1$309,000$290,000
1415 Greywall LnWynnewood31.1$299,000$295,000
103 Henley RdWynnewood32.1$319,900$325,000
1413 Dorset LnWynnewood42.3$424,900$410,000
512 Clothier RdWynnewood42.1$588,800$531,000
1218 Remington RdWynnewood54.1$649,000$615,000
1308 Hillside RdWynnewood53.1$834,900$810,000
434 Warick RdWynnewood53.1$985,000$932,500