The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) has been the most active buyer of multifamily units in the city since September, gobbling up properties in Port Richmond, Grays Ferry, University City and Wynnefield Heights.The city agency has spent $235 million to acquire 1,329 units as part of its Opening Doors initiative to grow its portfolio citywide. The housing authority typically aims to dedicate 60% of its units for affordable housing and 40% of its units for market-rate housing. PHA projected it would cost about $225,000 on average to buy housing units through Opening Doors, and the recent acquisitions came in 21% under that estimate at an average of $177,000 per unit. The acquisition cost is far less than the $550,000 per unit PHA estimates it would require to build new apartments, the key factor influencing the ongoing buying spree. PHA is taking advantage of market conditions that are leading apartment owners to consider selling their properties, with the combination of high interest rates and a glut of new apartments in the city making it more of a challenge to lease up residential units. PHA, which is almost entirely funded by the federal government, plans to spend $900 million to acquire 4,000 housing units in the next two years. PHA CEO Kelvin Jeremiah described the acquisitions as "a strategic investment."
Source: Philadelphia Business Journal; 5/19/2025