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PhillyInc: How is Philadelphia's real estate market holding up in the housing downturn?
Long: "Compared to the rest of the country, the Philadelphia market is holding up pretty well. Our sales were down from the previous year but the previous year was one of the hottest in history."
PhillyInc: Where are the hot markets?
Long: "Chester and Montgomery are your two hottest counties and in Jersey its Gloucester County."
PhillyInc: Where in Chester?
Long: "West Chester is fairly strong (and Phoenixville). … Chester County has probably held up as well or better than every other county in the Philadelphia market."
PhillyInc: What about in Montgomery County?
Long: "Looking along the 422 and 476 corridors (in areas including) Upper Pottsgrove, Upper Providence Upper Hanover, Pennsburg and Skippack."
PhillyInc: What trends are you seeing?
Long: "More new housing (developments) are farther away from the city. That is driven by the price of land. If you can keep the housing prices under certain level, it helps you sell a lot quicker."
PhillyInc: What about the types of developments?
Long: "It seems like that the developers have changed their philosophy a little bit. More and more developers are trying to get approvals for town houses versus single families. There is a bigger push for townhouses because they are more affordable."
PhillyInc: What about the Jersey Shore?
Long: "It's still a little dicey down there. There's still a large supply out there and not enough buyers. There are a lot of people waiting on the sidelines waiting to see if the shore market bottoms out."
PhillyInc: Has Philadelphia been hurt by the suprime mortgage defaults?
Long: "I don't think it's hurting this area as much as other parts of the country. (Speculators) were trying to get in cheap thinking `I'm only going to hold onto for it a year'. Foreclosures in the Philadelphia market are actually holding pretty steady."
