Yuri Castano | The true value of homeownership

During the snow and ice storm two Fridays ago, I spent an hour in a traffic jam with one of the few cabdrivers who decided to stay out on the road. He told me the story of his 10 years living in the neighborhood.

A one-bedroom apartment he had rented for $600 per month just a few years back on 48th and Baltimore was presently on the market for $1,200 a month. "The next time I move, I won't stay in University City; I'll go somewhere else where the rents are cheaper," he said.

If the University and city government officials don't get wise, working-class people are going to get pushed out of the neighborhood.

Since 2001, real-estate prices have been booming in Philadelphia. In 2006 alone, University City property values went up 200 percent, according to Dennis Culhane, Penn professor of Social Policy and Practice.

When tax season rolls around next year, homeowners are going to feel the heat of increasing prices. Especially as the Board of Revision of Taxes approaches the closing stage of its Full Value Project, low-income homeowners have cause to wonder whether they will still own their homes in a few short years.

Under the Full Value Project, all 569,000 residential and commercial properties in Philadelphia are being revalued at their full market worth. When notices of new value are mailed out this summer, low-income homeowners, particularly those with a fixed income, will have to pray hard that city government lowers the property tax rate.

While some homeowners may be able to refinance their homes and borrow against new value, renters will be more vulnerable to spikes in the cost of living.

While the future remains uncertain for working-class residents in University City it would be narrow-minded to position rising real estate values as a negative development.

"You know there is a problem in the neighborhood when houses worth half a million dollars are being sold for fifty thousand," said Andrew Zitcer, a homeowner and a Penn Facilities and Real Estate Services staff member living at 46th and Walnut.

The trouble in University City isn't increasing values, it's the fact that properties throughout the area have been chronically undervalued.

In a neighborhood plagued by disinvestment and abandonment for the past 40 years, increasing real-estate values are leading to revitalization. Landlords disinterested in community improvements have been enticed to sell their properties to families who want to invest in the neighborhood, according to Barry Grossbach, former president and current board member of the Spruce Hill Community Association.

Penn, too, has done its part to reinvigorate University City by promoting home ownership. Penn's Guaranteed Mortgage Program helps Penn employees finance up to 120 percent of their mortgages, while the Enhanced Mortgage Program provides employees living as far as 52nd street with $7,500 forgivable loans for home improvement.

By bringing long-term residents into the neighborhood, the GMP and EMP have helped reduce blight and crime rates on blocks throughout University City, according to Oluwatoyin Adegbite-Moore, director of the Office of Community Housing.

Reinvestment in University City, however, must go hand in hand with maintaining the neighborhood's socioeconomic diversity.

With the median residential sale price in University City having gone up by $172,500 between 2003 and 2005 alone - over 600 percent higher than the increase citywide - only wealthier Philadelphians with stable incomes will be able to buy into the neighborhood, while working-class long-time homeowners will likely be muscled out. Low-income renters will also suffer.

The GMP and EMP already do a good job of servicing Penn employees from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. But including non-affiliated community members in these programs would accelerate the growth of University City's homeownership base, hopefully keeping lower income neighbors in the loop before its too late.

The boldest stand, however, needs to be taken by the government.

When the Full Value Project comes to fruition in 2008, city government must act quickly to lower tax rates. The city must also push through reforms that will work to educate low income homeowners about refinancing their homes, place ceilings on property tax rates for elderly residents on social security, and maintain a stock of affordable housing options throughout the city's neighborhoods.

As growth and progress explodes in University City, let's make sure everybody is along for the ride.

Yuri Castano is a College sophomore from Mexico City, Mexico. His e-mail address is castano@dailypennsylvanian.com. Bringing the n Back appears on Wednesdays.

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