press release

Center City District Releases Annual Housing Report

Greater Center City Philadelphia leads city in housing growth, with residential development reaching a 5-year high in 2024, according to new CCD research

PHILADELPHIA (March 4, 2025) — The Center City District (CCD) and Central Philadelphia Development Corporation (CPDC) has released the annual Center City Housing Report, revealing unprecedented growth in Greater Center City's residential sector during 2024.

The report highlights that Greater Center City accounted for 44% of all Philadelphia housing completions last year while comprising less than 6% of the city's total land area. The area between Girard Avenue and Tasker Street, river to river, added 3,811 new housing units in 2024, exceeding 2023's total by nearly 1,000 units and marking the highest level of production in five years.

"One in eight Philadelphians now call Greater Center City home," said Prema Katari Gupta, President and CEO of Center City District. "This concentration of growth reinforces the mixed-use ecosystem that makes our downtown resilient and vibrant."

Most notably, the 19123 ZIP code alone accounted for a quarter of all new housing units in Philadelphia last year, with approximately 2,000 new units completed. This area, which includes the Delaware River waterfront from Callowhill Street to Penn Treaty Park, continues to experience explosive development alongside other rapidly growing corridors like Spring Garden Street and North Broad.

Core Center City (Pine to Vine streets, river to river) added 950 units in 2024, with signature projects including Jessup House, 210S12, and The Josephine bringing luxury apartments and ground-floor retail to the downtown.

Population data reinforces the housing boom, with mobile phone data from Placer.ai suggesting that core Center City's population grew by another 3% in 2024, compared to just 0.2% growth for the city overall. Since 2011, Greater Center City's population has increased by 27%, substantially outpacing the city's 4% growth during the same period.

Philadelphia continues to be a national leader in office-to-residential conversions, with several significant projects underway that will add more than 900 new apartment units. Notable conversion projects include The Bellevue, 1701 Market (now 17 Market West), 3 Parkway, The Bourse, 400 Market, and 2100 Arch.

Despite the wave of new units, absorption remains strong. In 2024, Greater Center City saw the second-highest absorption rate of the past decade, with 2,400 more units occupied at year-end than at the beginning of the year.

“The opportunity for Philadelphia is to strengthen its performance as a target market for those from more competitive and costly cities, begetting a beneficial cycle,” Gupta added. “High-quality housing units help attract and retain new residents, which grow Greater Center City’s spending power and talent pool, teeing up greater demand for retail and restaurants and making a more compelling case for office-occupying firms to stay, move, and grow here.”

While the rental market maintains its strength, with core Center City occupancy near 92%, extended Center City's occupancy has dipped to 83% due to the historic levels of new inventory coming online.

Housing affordability remains a key advantage for Philadelphia compared to neighboring cities. According to Zillow, as of December 31, 2024, the average rent in Philadelphia is $1,703 – 41% less than the average rents in New York, Washington, Boston, and Chicago.

The report projects a slowdown in deliveries for 2025, with approximately one-third as many units expected to come online as in 2024. This pause may allow the rental market to stabilize after the recent surge in supply.

For the full 20-page Center City Housing Report, which includes an in-depth analysis of trends along with detailed charts and graphs tracking the residential sector, visit centercityphila.org/housing.

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