Research & Reports

This annual housing report examines Center City Philadelphia's residential sector momentum and the cumulative effects of three decades of growth, the rebound from 2020 and its impact on housing markets, new and upcoming residential developments and homeownership trends, and the status of the rental market.

Citywide employment has fully rebounded from the spring 2020 shutdown with 2.4% more jobs in October 2023 than in February 2020. But there is a difference between the return of workers to payrolls and the return of full vitality to Center City. The report suggests ways to accelerate the job growth and business formation rates in Philadelphia.

Can downtowns in the U.S. rebound and prosper? This fundamental question lingers more than three years after the global pandemic. This report seeks to counter misinformation and provide some of the data that can assist when making decisions and choosing actions that best support a robust and inclusive process of recovery.

Center City continued its steady process of recovery in June and during the first three weeks of July with pedestrian volumes reaching 92% of 2019 levels. The robust recovery of residents and visitors has led the way, while the number of workers in June approached 100,000, attaining 76% of June 2019 levels.