Housing conditions and housing types vary significantly in different parts of West Philadelphia. In this section of The Plan for West Philadelphia, a geographic organization is established as a framework for describing and analyzing West Philadelphia's neighborhoods and housing; contiguous neighborhoods that have similar characteristics and issues are grouped into four sub-areas. Detailed recommendations for improving the neighborhoods are also presented.

First, as background, current housing data is reviewed for West Philadelphia as a whole. Key findings are (1) a major increase in vacant structures since 1987, (2) traditionally high rates of homeownership by black households in West Philadelphia, and (3) a levelling-off of residential property values after many years of sharp increases.

Vacant housing
The City's Department of Licenses & Inspections (L&I) reported that 4,128 vacant residential structures existed in West Philadelphia in 1991. This is a 36% increase since 1987 when 3,044 vacant residential structures were reported by L&I. This increase occurred despite the fact that 298 structures were demolished in West Philadelphia between 1987 and 1991.

The West Philadelphia District Plan; Starting The Process, published by the Planning Commission in 1990, analyzed vacancy for the 1980-1987 time period. That data showed a decrease of 242 vacant residential structures during a time when 485 residential structures were demolished. While this 1980-to-1987 data shows improvement in terms of vacancy, the improvement can be explained by the number of demolitions. The newer data for West Philadelphia tells a very different story; it shows both an increase in vacancy and continued demolition activity, indicating that West Philadelphia's housing abandonment problem has intensified since 1987.

Homeownership
Homeownership statistics are basically unchanged from the previous census. West Philadelphia has a slightly lower rate of homeownership than the city as a whole, but homeownership by blacks in the district is slightly higher than that for blacks throughout the city. 57.4% of black households in West Philadelphia own their homes, compared to 56.7% city-wide. These homeownership rates are quite high relative to homeownership rates in other major U.S. cities, and particularly high for homeownership by black households.

Residential sales prices
Table 10 on page 40 summarizes the sales price data for single family homes in West Philadelphia. The data reflects actual sales prices in all transactions. However, in interpreting the data, it is important to remember that the number of actual sales that generate the median for each year is not constant. In addition, the type, location and condition of the housing that is sold are variables that change from year to year and affect the median sales price.

West Philadelphia's property value trend is very similar to the city-wide experience. Prices increased substantially between 1975 and 1981. Then, prices increased at a far greater rate -- more than 15% annually -- between 1981 and 1987, a high point for property values in West Philadelphia and the city. Subsequently, property values in West Philadelphia declined by 5.7% from 1987 to 1991, and the number of sales declined significantly in comparison with the 1987 sales volume. For the same period, sales prices in the city increased by 7.8%.

Median Sale Price 1991

This map reflects the sales prices of single-family homes. West Philadelphia's overall 1991 median sale price was $25,000 (based on 702 transactions).

Table 10

Table 11