Wholesale House Prices Philadelphia

For reference, Philadelphia counted about 1.6 million residents in the 2020 census, and the city shares its borders with Philadelphia County. In particular, listings are most numerous now in ZIP codes 19146, 19133 and 19125, which gives you the widest set of owners and comps.

Expand a ZIP code below for its investing numbers, then weigh one area against another. Note that data comes from Realtor.com (October 2026) and the Zillow Home Value Index (August 2026).

To get Philadelphia’s gross rent yield, divide 12 months of median rent by the median listing price; max offers assume repair costs of 8% of the median price.

Wholesale prices follow the block.

Rowhouses in parts of Kensington, Strawberry Mansion, and Southwest can trade well below the median, especially when vacant, while Fishtown, Point Breeze, and Graduate Hospital have seen heavy renovation and new construction that pushes prices far above it.

Meanwhile, twins and detached homes in the Northeast and Northwest form a steadier middle tier. Therefore, pull comps from the same block or the next one, not the whole zip code.

In general, typical rehab line items in older Philadelphia rowhouses include flat roofs, party wall and rear wall repairs, basement water, knob-and-tube wiring or undersized electrical service, old cast iron drains, and lead paint.

Moreover, vacant houses may need a full gut, permits from Licenses and Inspections, and utilities restored. The city also requires a vacant residential property license for unoccupied homes not under renovation, which a buyer will count as a holding cost if the house will sit empty.

Here is an example. If a renovated rowhouse would sell at the $243,100 median, a 70 percent rule sets a ceiling of about $170,170 before repairs.

For instance, with $50,000 in work, the ceiling drops to $120,170, and your fee comes from inside it. Philadelphia buyers also lose a large slice to realty transfer tax on the resale, so many use a lower percentage. Of course, treat the formula as a screen and confirm each buyer’s own method.

In other words, Pennsylvania forecloses only through the courts, and in Philadelphia mortgage cases go through the Court of Common Pleas.

Before filing, lenders must send an Act 91 notice, and owner-occupants in the city can typically get a conciliation conference through the residential mortgage foreclosure diversion program. Owners can generally cure until one hour before the sheriff’s sale. As a result, court filings and the sheriff’s posted sale lists, which run on Bid4Assets, show which owners are running out of time.

Tax-delinquent properties are also sold by the Sheriff, with tax sale listings posted alongside mortgage foreclosures, and some occupied homes may keep a redemption right after the sale.

That makes delinquency records a lead source well before a property is listed. For estates, the Register of Wills probates wills, issues letters of administration, and also serves as Clerk of the Orphans’ Court, so newly granted letters are a steady source of inherited rowhouses.

In general, title companies and settlement agents usually handle Pennsylvania closings. The realty transfer tax is the largest cost: the state charges 1 percent and the city’s Department of Revenue lists a city rate of 3.578 percent, for 4.578 percent combined.

On a $243,100 sale that is about $11,129, often split evenly between buyer and seller. The city’s page still shows a 3.278 percent figure in its mail-payment instructions, so confirm the current rate with the title company and ask whether your assignment fee adds to the taxable amount.

Philadelphia requires a Residential Property Wholesaler License from Licenses and Inspections, under Title 9-5200 of the city code, for businesses that buy homes solely to resell them or get owners to sell so someone can resell.

The license costs $200 a year and requires a Commercial Activity License, $1,000,000 in general liability insurance, a state police background check, and current city taxes. Statewide, Act 52 of 2024, in effect since January 2025, requires people who conduct wholesale transactions to be licensed by the State Real Estate Commission, mandates disclosures, and gives sellers a 30-day cancellation right, so consult a Pennsylvania attorney.

Nearly half of Philadelphia homes are rented, and a median gross rent of $1,397 keeps buy-and-hold investors active, especially for three-bedroom rowhouses near transit and commercial corridors.

Landlords need a city rental license, so they pay for houses that can be made code-compliant without a full gut. Expect questions about lead certification, roof age, and water damage, and be ready to show whether the house is occupied and on what terms.

Flippers pay more for houses in neighborhoods where finished rowhouses sell to first-time buyers, and with a median household income of $61,953, those resale prices have to stay within reach of local wages.

Finally, small builders and developers want vacant lots, shells, and corner properties in fast-changing areas, and they price on zoning and land value. Match each lead to one of these exits before you sign, because the exit decides what the contract can pay.

Philadelphia wholesalers who check Common Pleas filings, sheriff sale lists and new letters from the Register of Wills every week end up with the steadiest deal flow.

New customers get 25% off Wholesale Houses at Wholesale Prices in Philadelphia, our wholesale real estate platform. Also, pair it with the ZIP codes above and the city’s court and estate records.

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