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🔥 A red-hot rental market | Morning Newsletter

And the need for a digital vax card

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

You’re going to need to pack your sunscreen today as temperatures are expected in the high 90s.

Speaking of hot, the housing market has been blistering, with people offering thousands over the asking price, waving inspections, and more to land that dream home. Now, it appears that the same energy has hit rentals.

And, the city is preparing efforts to digitize COVID-19 vaccination cards. But there are some who wonder the worth of going through all that trouble at this stage of the pandemic.

Personally, I’ve been craving a good burger. Shoutout to my colleagues for providing 17 of Philly’s Best. ✨

— Kerith Gabriel (@sprtswtr, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

The rental market has now become a survival of the fittest.

And by “fittest,” we mean people with pristine credit scores are still considering paying hundreds over asking as low supply and rising inflation have turned renting into a veritable bidding war.

“We had people paying 50% to 60% of their income for housing,” Rachel Falkove, executive director of the homelessness prevention and services nonprofit Family Promise of Philadelphia, formerly known as Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network, “and the rates are going way up.”

Nationwide, the median rent reached $1,827 in April, up 21% from April 2020 and almost 17% from April 2021, according to a Realtor.com report. It’s on track to pass $2,000 by August. April marked the 14th straight month of record-high median rents.

In the Philadelphia metro area, the median rent is $1,775, up almost 8% from last year. It’s a major reason why our reporter Michaelle Bond takes this timely look at the state of renting across the region.

Also, we’re sharing:

🏠 Why some small-scale rental property owners are choosing to leave the business and list their rentals for sale, and

🏠 What you need to look for before you sign a lease in Pennsylvania.

What you should know today

  1. Mehmet Oz called himself the ‘presumptive’ Pa. Republican Senate nominee even though a recount is on

  2. Drexel president John Fry has big plans for the university and its surroundings to become a mecca for engineering and biotechnology.

  3. Memorial Day weekend was a festive one around the region and we have the images to prove it. Also, you have to meet this lowrider group.

  4. An inside look at Kyle Neptune, the coach to replace Villanova basketball coaching legend Jay Wright.

  5. You’ll never guess what these new homeowners uncovered doing DIY renovations in their Manayunk trinity.

  6. Our columnist Will Bunch suggests that if there were ever a time to get mad at the gun crisis in our country and act, now would be that time.

  7. Local Coronavirus Numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.

You read that correctly. The city is implementing a system that would allow residents to have a digital version of their COVID-19 vaccine card.

And despite ending its mandate for indoor dining in February – a sector of which fairly, this would not only be limited to – and no plans to renew any of its COVID-19 safety restrictions, digital cards could be here soon.

In fact, holding up the rollout is what the city cited as technical issues.

Some businesses do still require customers to prove vaccination, as do many employers and schools, said Matt Rankin, a spokesperson for the city’s health department, who added that the digital proof of vaccination would also be helpful as people get booster shots.

But not everyone sees the need for a digital version of the vaccination card as the best use of city resources and funding. There’s also the issue of privacy and, some say, the level of interest from the public.

If you’re interested in how this differs from a picture of your vaccination card saved to your smartphone favorites, our reporters Kasturi Pananjady and Jason Laughlin explore in their latest.

🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠

Did you happen to see any drones or weird-looking robots riding, flying or meandering around the city recently? It was probably in part because of Pennovation, a massive engineering conference that brought scores of roboticists and others to Philly to talk about the future of artificial intelligence. Today’s question: Do you know how many roboticists were in Philly? Take a guess and find the answer here.

a. 2,500

b. 3,000

c. 3,500

d. 4,500

What we’re…

🤦 Wondering: Why does anyone need a cache of explosives down the Shore?

📚 Reading: This inspiring opinion piece from this Philly teacher in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

🦠 Realizing: COVID-19 is just going to keep coming back, again and again ... and again.

🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩

🤣 A really funny guy.

KITH NAVER

Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shoutout to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shoutout goes to Lisa Powell who correctly guessed SEA ISLE CITY as Monday’s answer as she was vacationing in Sea Isle City.

Photo of the day

Stay cool today, Philly. I’ll catch you tomorrow. ✌️