Point Breeze named Philly’s hottest neighborhood of 2017

Fishtown may have just earned the title of 2016 Neighborhood of the Year, but Point Breeze is poised to become the hottest Philly ‘hood of 2017. That’s according to Zillow, which just released its 2017 predictions for the hottest housing markets across the country.

While Philly proper didn’t crack the top 10 list—no East Coast cities did, for that matter—, Zillow researchers did take a deeper dive in the metro region to see which neighborhoods are expected to experience skyrocketing home values. Here are Philly’s top five:

1. Point Breeze: 12 percent forecasted home value growth
2. Walnut Hill: +8.7 percent
3. Greenwich: +8.5 percent
4. Richmond (includes Port Richmond and some of Harrowgate and Bridesburg): +8 percent
5. West Kensington: +7.1 percent

To come up with the predictions, Zillow interviewed more than 100 housing experts and looked at recent income growth and current unemployment rates.

We’re not too surprised by Point Breeze taking the top spot in Philly, to be honest. And it was only a matter of time before Port Richmond started feeling the heat from neighbors in the River Wards like Fishtown. Same for West Kensington and Walnut Hill.

But Greenwich? Zillow defines this neighborhood’s borders by 9th, Mifflin, 4th, and Snyder Avenue. That actually makes up a hodgepodge of South Philly neighborhoods like East Passyunk, Moyamensing, and Wharton, which makes a tad more sense as to how it made the list.

Perhaps, though, the most telling finding is one that housing experts have been saying for months now: People are moving away from coastal cities to smaller markets with growing jobs and opportunities.

Says Zillow chief economist Dr. Svenja Gudell, “The growth and demand for housing will drive up home prices in 2017, and these hot markets are experiencing change as more people discover them."

• 5 Philly neighborhoods everyone should be watching [Curbed Philly]