Broken elevators trap apartment residents | Real Estate Newsletter

Today, we take a look at West Philly apartments where elevator problems have trapped older residents and people with disabilities in their homes.

Last month, elevators were down at a federally subsidized housing complex when a resident needed medical attention. Paramedics had to carry the tenant down the stairs.

A few miles away, at apartments for people with both low incomes and disabilities, a recent elevator outage — they happen regularly — left a resident who uses a wheelchair trapped in her apartment for a week.

Read on for that story and learn why home buyers with low and middle incomes are struggling, see where home prices are dropping in the region, and peek inside a “bayside barn” Shore home in Avalon.

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— Michaelle Bond

“We’re all gonna die in here if there’s an emergency,” said a 76-year-old resident at the Haddington Elderly Housing complex. “Most people can’t use the steps.”

One elevator has been down for months, and the other is having problems.

A resident at the Inglis Gardens apartments who uses a wheelchair said tenants have to cancel medical appointments because the elevators regularly break down. One outage lasted a month.

Philadelphians with low incomes are the ones most likely to have to deal with broken elevators.

Read on for more about what these elevator outages mean.

You may have heard that the country has a housing shortage and a low supply of homes for sale.

As you can imagine, the problem is worst for home buyers with low and middle incomes. In the Philadelphia region, thousands of home listings that are affordable for these households are missing.

The country needs more homes at all price points if it’s going to chip away at the twin problems of low affordability and low housing supply, according to a new report.

In the Philly region, households making $50,000 faced the largest shortage of available, affordable homes for sale.

Read my story for more details and graphics that help show the imbalance.

A piece of Shore property in Avalon has been in Mary Simmonds’ family for more than 50 years. But the house there now is new. And three times the size of the original.

Simmonds and her partner, Richard Stewart, bulldozed a rancher and replaced it with a 3,000-square-foot, three-story house.

Walls in the back are lined with windows to show off bay views. A colorful bubble chandelier spans three stories. Each floor includes a walkout deck.

Peek inside and find out how they got their statement piece — a 300-pound mosaic sculpture of a cow — from their Harrisburg home into their Avalon beach house.

In March, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan paid $24 million for a 210-acre Chester County farm.🔑 Now, he’s agreed to sell part of it to the Willistown Conservation Trust for preservation.

Question: How much of the farm will be preserved under the deal?

A) 10 acres

B) 40 acres

C) 90 acres

D) 110 acres

This story has the answer.🔑

Let’s talk home prices. In the Philadelphia metro area, they’re up. In fact, prices have risen for 69 months in a row, according to the multiple listing service Bright MLS.

Why?

🔺 The region’s median home price of $345,000 was up 2.1% in May from last May.

But in three of 11 local counties in the tristate area, the median sales price dropped:

🔻 Philadelphia’s was $269,900, down 6.9%.

🔻 Camden County’s was $295,000, down 1.7%.

🔻 New Castle County’s was $330,000, down 1.5%.

In Philadelphia, housing supply is back near 2019 levels, which helps restrict prices.

Do you know the location of this popup exhibit?

📮 If you think you do, email me back.

I got a couple correct answers to last week’s photo quiz. The pictured dragon is at Franklin Square for the Chinese Lantern Festival. Mike S. said he and his partner have gone many times and highly recommend it.

I started last week’s newsletter by saying people in our region have strong feelings about parking. And I asked for your experiences.

Here are a few of the responses.

Dhruva R. of Wynnewood said that during the pandemic, his family of three went down to one car, and it’s parked in the attached garage of their single-family home. He said he’s been helping with his local government’s sustainability strategy, “which includes making our roads more friendly to non-motorized traffic.”

“Funny thing is, I’ve been a car guy since before my feet could reach the pedals. I’m reconciling that with what cars have done to our neighborhoods, and I understand there’s a better way and will do what I can for us to move in that direction.”

Geri C. of Germantown said she parks on the street in front of her house or in a church parking lot available to neighborhood residents. She noted that her community often fights with developers over parking.

“We are in a spot where they say that public transportation runs near these buildings, but, unfortunately, investment in public transportation isn’t what it needs to be to make it as useful as it needs to be.”

Susan C.S. of Fairmount said that finding parking in Philly “has been the bane of my existence.” She said she and her husband’s top priority during their home search was finding a place with parking. They now have a driveway.

“I will say that knowing I can come and go as I please without worrying about finding a spot when I get home is a game-changer!”

A new report calls Philly one of the best U.S. cities to live in without a car.

Some food for thought. Enjoy the rest of your week.