How do you feel about wallpaper?
If you’ve ever had to try peeling it off, you might hate it. And for a while, homebuyers tended to have a rip first, ask questions later mindset.
But wallpaper is seeing a resurgence. It’s a way to proclaim personality and create character. And, maybe most importantly, it’s now easier to use and remove.
Keep scrolling for that story and more in this week’s edition:
Looking to the future: Learn about the planned redevelopment of a Gayborhood institution.
Purchasing power: Find out why homebuyers in the Philadelphia area can afford more expensive homes this year.
Apartment haven: Peek inside this bi-level Philly home at the intersection of three neighborhoods.
Market update: Scroll to see what the region’s housing markets were up to in February.
— Michaelle Bond
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You may not remember the name Jessica Maiuro, but you might remember the Rittenhouse renter’s bold choice of wallpaper.
Back in September, I featured her apartment in the newsletter. And we all got a look at her Benjamin Franklin wallpaper. He’s in a gilded picture frame blowing a pink gum bubble.
Maiuro wanted the wallpaper to be a conversation starter, and it definitely is.
She used peel-and-stick paper that she knows she can easily take off whenever she moves out of her rental.
And that innovation is one reason why wallpaper is now back in style. People aren’t as afraid of it, since it’s easier to use and remove.
Wallpaper murals have gotten more popular. And homebuyers are wallpapering ceilings like Europeans do.
Keep reading to learn more about the latest wallpaper trends and how to do them right.
📮Have you embraced wallpaper in your home? Tell me about your project.
For months, it hasn’t been clear what the future holds for the building that houses a storied institution in Philly’s Gayborhood. But now, plans are taking shape for the headquarters of the William Way LGBT Community Center.
The building is 176 years old and in rough shape. William Way has spent the last decade raising money for repairs. But it hasn’t been able to raise enough even for the immediate fixes that are needed.
Now, the organization plans to demolish the building and replace it with a new one that’ll include up to 42 new subsidized apartments for seniors.
William Way would get more space and be able to provide housing for folks who probably couldn’t otherwise afford to live in the historic neighborhood.
Keep reading to learn more about the redevelopment plans, those who support them, and those who have questions.
The latest news to pay attention to
Here’s why homebuyers in the Philadelphia area can afford more expensive homes this year.
Rowan University unveiled a $690 million development project it says could be part of a “new Silicon Valley” in the Northeast.
These homebuyers worked to make sure the mortgage payment for their mid-century modern South Philly rowhouse was under $2,000.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker is supporting legislation to boost housing development around SEPTA stations.
Philly officials are appealing a court ruling that overturned the Washington Square West historic district.
In Wilmington, Del., the country’s corporate capital, apartments are replacing companies’ headquarters.
House of the week: For $379,000 in Spring Garden, a two-bedroom, bi-level condo in a historical building with a shared backyard.
Hunter Pippin and Kedzie Teller had me at “two balconies.” But it was the extra space for a home office that persuaded them to choose their current apartment when they moved in together.
They also already liked the building, which is located where the neighborhoods of Old Kensington, Fishtown, and Northern Liberties meet. They moved into the apartment right above Teller’s one-bedroom.
Their current home is a bi-level, two-bedroom unit spanning 1,200 square feet. And it gets lots of natural light for their plants.
Peek inside the couple’s home and see the ceiling that Pippin says is “like a rain stick” during storms.
📊 The market
The weather lately has been feeling very springlike (even summerlike). We were all freezing in deep winter in February, but for the housing market, last month typically marks the start of the busy spring season.
Across the Mid-Atlantic, however, the outlook this home-buying season “has become cloudier,” Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at the multiple listing service Bright MLS, said in a statement.
So far this year, homebuyers and sellers “are moving with extreme caution” because of how hard it still is to afford a home and uncertainty about the economy, she said.
In the Philadelphia metropolitan area last month:
🔻The number of closed home sales was down 8.5% from the same time last year.
🔻The number of homes newly listed for sale was down more than 14% to a record low, according to stats that go back to 2003.
🔺Active listings were up 2% across the region, but they were down in Philadelphia, Chester, and Gloucester Counties.
🔺The median sale price was $375,000, up from $365,500 at the same time last year.
The supply of homes for sale in the Philly region continues to be a problem. Inventory is less than half what it was before the pandemic. That’s helping to keep prices up and sales down.
📷 Photo quiz
Do you know the location this photo shows?
📮 If you think you do, email me back. You and your memories of visiting this spot might be featured in the newsletter.
Shoutout to Lynn for knowing that last week’s quiz featured a photo taken in the main entrance lobby of the National Constitution Center.
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I’ll leave you with this piece that asks you to guess how much prices have changed in Philly as affordability stays on everyone’s minds. From electric and heating bills to average costs to rent and buy a home, see how well you know the price of necessities.
And enjoy the rest of your week.
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