New York City and Washington DC are my largest feeder markets. Their questions are consistent, and this guide answers them in order, with the source for every rate and rule attached.

One thing I say to every relocating client, because I have lived it: I have moved 25 times. I know that moving is about so much more than finding a house. You are trying to figure out where your life will work. That is the real job here, and the rest of this guide is in service of it.

Getting between Philadelphia, New York and Washington

The anchor for all three cities is William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, at 2955 Market Street on the west bank of the Schuylkill River. Amtrak lists the station as served by Acela, Northeast Regional, Keystone Service and the Pennsylvanian, and lists connections to SEPTA and NJ Transit.

To and from New York

There are two rail approaches. The first is Amtrak on the Northeast Corridor, with Acela and Northeast Regional trains from 30th Street. The second takes longer to describe but is worth knowing: SEPTA’s Trenton Line runs from 30th Street to Trenton Transit Center, and SEPTA’s current Trenton Line schedule, effective July 5, 2026, lists connections there to Amtrak, NJ Transit’s Northeast Corridor Line, the River Line and NJ Transit bus routes.

I do not quote travel times or fares in this guide, because both change with the timetable, the train and the day. Before you decide how often you can realistically make the trip, check current schedules and fares on amtrak.com, septa.org and njtransit.com for the exact days and hours you would travel.

To and from Washington

From 30th Street, Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor service runs south toward Washington. Closer to home, SEPTA’s Wilmington/Newark Line runs from 30th Street to Newark, Delaware, and its current schedule, also effective July 5, 2026, lists an Amtrak connection there. Check the current timetable for your own trip.

If you will travel back regularly, where your home sits relative to 30th Street or an L stop may matter more than any single feature of the house. I ask every relocating client: How easy is it to get to the airport or 30th Street Station? Where will your guests park? Can you walk along the river in the morning? Will this neighborhood still feel right for you three years from now?

What is different about buying in Philadelphia

What changes in Philadelphia is the tax at settlement, the mix of property types, and how local the market is. I tell every buyer that Philadelphia is not one market. It changes neighborhood by neighborhood, building by building and sometimes block by block. Two homes only a few streets apart can have very different values and resale potential.

The realty transfer tax

This is the line item that surprises relocating buyers most. The City of Philadelphia lists the current Realty Transfer Tax as 3.578 percent (City) plus 1 percent (Commonwealth), for a total of 4.578 percent of the sale price or assessed value of the property, plus any assumed debt. The City states that the tax is usually split evenly between the buyer and the seller, but that this is not a legal requirement, and that the City can collect the full tax from either party. In practice the split is negotiable and belongs in the agreement of sale in writing. My full walkthrough of closing costs is in Buying a Home in Philadelphia.

The Homestead Exemption, for owner-occupants

If you will live in the home you buy, look at Philadelphia’s Homestead Exemption as soon as you settle. The City describes it this way: the exemption reduces the taxable portion of your property’s assessed value by 100,000 dollars, and starting in 2025 most homeowners save up to 1,399 dollars a year on their Real Estate Tax bill. The City says you are eligible for a property you own and live in, including if you have a mortgage or are a new homeowner. Properties with a 10-year residential tax abatement are not eligible until the abatement expires. The City’s final deadline is December 1 of each year, and it recommends applying by October 1 so the benefit appears on the next bill.

I never promise a buyer that they qualify. Before you make an offer, I review the current taxes, assessed value and any abatement or exemption on the property, and you can check the records yourself on atlas.phila.gov.

Condominiums and co-ops: what carries over from New York

If you are coming from New York, you may have bought or rented in a cooperative. The structure of a co-op is the same idea in Philadelphia: you buy shares in the corporation that owns the building and receive a proprietary lease for your unit. New York’s tax authorities describe the transfer of a co-op in exactly those terms, as a conveyance of shares of stock in a cooperative housing corporation in connection with a proprietary lease. A condominium is different: you own the unit itself, and an association governs the building and its shared areas.

What does not carry over is the building. A co-op’s governing documents and proprietary lease set the rules for who can buy, how a sale is approved, what financing is allowed and what fees apply, and those rules vary from one corporation to the next. The same is true of condominium associations. I help buyers look beyond the unit to the fees, reserves, insurance, assessments, rules, rental and pet policies and parking, because each affects how you live there and how easily you can resell. I sell condominiums, co-ops, rowhomes, twins and single-family homes across Philadelphia, and I go deeper on apartment-style ownership in Buying a Condo or Co-op in Center City Philadelphia.

Moving from Washington: a different tax structure to compare

If you have bought in the District, you have seen DC’s recordation and transfer taxes on a settlement statement. The DC Office of Tax and Revenue’s Form FP-7/C (revised October 2024) sets each of them at 1.1 percent for residential transfers under 400,000 dollars and 1.45 percent at 400,000 dollars and above, with a reduced recordation tax rate of 0.725 percent for qualified first-time homebuyers. Philadelphia uses a single combined realty transfer tax instead, at the 4.578 percent the City lists. Ask your lender for a Philadelphia estimate from the start.

Buying in Philadelphia vs New York vs Washington DC: what changes

This table covers only facts published by each government and fetched on September 29, 2026. Anything left out is left out because I did not want to publish it without a primary source, not because it does not matter. Rates change, so confirm each one for your own transaction.

The Philadelphia Wage Tax: check it before you sign a lease or an offer

Philadelphia has a Wage Tax that many people moving from other cities have not had to think about in quite this form. The Philadelphia Department of Revenue lists these rates effective July 1, 2026: 3.735 percent for residents of Philadelphia and 3.425 percent for non-residents. The rates have changed several times in recent years, most recently on July 1, 2026, so check the Department of Revenue’s page for the current figures when you plan your move.

The detail that matters most to people keeping a New York or DC job is this one. The City explains that the most common reason a resident files the Earnings Tax is working for an out-of-state employer, because out-of-state employers are not required to withhold Philadelphia’s Wage Tax. In that case you file and pay the Earnings Tax yourself, at the same resident rate. If you will work remotely for an employer in another state, talk to a tax professional before you move about how your city, state and employer’s-state taxes interact.

Buying before you arrive

Relocating buyers are often still living and working in another city while we search. That is workable, and it goes well when we plan it deliberately. I work with out-of-town clients from start to finish, including Philadelphia tours, and I stay involved through settlement.

Start with live video, then a focused tour weekend

I usually start with conversations and live video walk-throughs so you can see not just the home but the block, the light, the stairs, the street at the hour you would come home. Photographs show a home at its best. Live video shows it as it is. Once we have narrowed the field, a focused tour weekend is usually where the decision gets made: a planned route through two or three neighborhoods, the shortlisted homes, and the walk to 30th Street or the nearest L stop, timed the way you would actually use it.

Inspections and due diligence from a distance

Inspections are particularly important in Philadelphia, where we have everything from historic rowhomes to new construction and high-rise condominiums. If you cannot attend, you can often join by video and review the written report afterward. I can connect you with experienced inspectors and, when needed, specialists for roofs, masonry, plumbing, sewer lines and HVAC. Condominium and co-op documents can be reviewed from anywhere.

Remote settlement, in general terms

Pennsylvania has permitted remote online notarization since Act 97 of 2020, effective October 29, 2020. According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, with remote online notarization the requirement that a signer appear in person before the notary is met by audio-visual communication technology, using a notary who has notified the Department and uses approved technology. That makes some remote signing possible. Whether your particular lender and title company will allow a remote or mail-away settlement, and on which documents, is their decision, so ask both early in the process rather than the week before closing.

Choosing a neighborhood by how your life will work

I never recommend a neighborhood by who lives there. I recommend it by how your days would actually run: how you get to 30th Street, whether you can walk to the places you use, where you would take a morning walk, and what kind of home you want to live in. Here is how I frame it for relocating clients.

If 30th Street is your most important destination

30th Street Station sits on the west bank of the Schuylkill River. The closest Center City neighborhoods are directly across the river. Logan Square and Fitler Square and Rittenhouse and Graduate Hospital offer a mix of brick rowhomes, historic townhouses, converted buildings and high-rise condominiums, with the river trail along their western edge. A short way north along the river, Fairmount and the Art Museum area is largely rowhome blocks with some condominium buildings.

If you want Center City east and the Delaware waterfront

Farther east, Society Hill and Washington Square, Old City and the Delaware River waterfront and Northern Liberties and Fishtown connect to 30th Street by the L along Market Street. Here you will find historic rowhomes and townhouses, converted loft buildings, newer construction and condominium buildings. Queen Village, Bella Vista and the Italian Market sit to the south, with blocks of rowhomes on small streets. Waterfront Square, the condominium community at 901 N Penn St that I know inside and out, is on this side of the city near the Delaware.

River trails and parks

One of the questions I ask every relocating client is whether they want to walk along the river in the morning. Philadelphia has two riverfronts to consider. On the Schuylkill, Schuylkill Banks describes its trail as part of the Schuylkill River Trail, the Circuit Trails and the East Coast Greenway. On the Delaware, the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation lists the Delaware River Trail among its public places, along with Race Street Pier and Spruce Street Harbor Park. Trail sections close from time to time for repairs, so check each organization’s site for current notices before you plan your morning route around one.

If you want more space outside the city

I also work in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties. If you consider that route, remember the Wage Tax distinction above: a non-resident who works in Philadelphia pays the non-resident rate on those earnings. You can see every neighborhood guide on my neighborhoods page.

Renting first while you decide

Not everyone should buy on arrival. If you do not yet know which neighborhood fits your routine, or your assignment has a set length, renting for a year can be the wiser first step. I work with renters as well as buyers, and I have worked with renters who later bought. My own business started that way.

When you sign a new lease in Philadelphia, the City requires the landlord to give you a Certificate of Rental Suitability. The City says it confirms that the landlord has the necessary licenses, including a Rental License, and that it must be signed and dated during the time the certificate is effective. Ask for it. A year of renting is also good research for a purchase, and when you are ready, I can help you move from renting to owning.

Relocating with a relocation company or on military orders

Relocation companies refer clients to me, and I work regularly with military relocations. The common thread is a fixed timeline: when you have a report date or a move date, the search is planned backwards from it, and the rent-or-buy decision often depends on how long you expect to stay.

For military clients, I start with the timeline, the length of the assignment, and the commute to your duty location. If you plan to use a VA-backed home loan, talk to a lender who handles them regularly and review eligibility on va.gov, since program terms are the lender’s and the VA’s to explain. For corporate relocations, I work within your relocation company’s process and keep you informed at each step.

Moving from abroad

If you are moving to Philadelphia from outside the United States, the process can feel unfamiliar in more than one way. I speak Dutch fluently and have a working knowledge of German, so we can talk through the Philadelphia process in the language you are most comfortable with. The mechanics above still apply, and I can connect you with lenders, attorneys and tax professionals who can advise on your situation.

When you are ready to talk numbers, my payment calculator is a starting point, and I can connect you with local mortgage professionals for a pre-approval. If you are still weighing the city against the one you know, my piece on what people get wrong about Philadelphia real estate covers the misconceptions I hear most, and you can read more about how I work in Naomi Kurzyna, Philadelphia REALTOR at Compass.

Frequently asked questions