Among 25 major metropolitan areas, Philadelphia ranked eighth inmaintaining its year-over-year price per sf, according to New YorkCity-based Radar Logic's newly released RPX Monthly Housing MarketReport for March. The metro area's PPSF of $149.13, forsinglefamily and condominium units, was off 5.3% from March 2007,and up 0.5% from Feb. 2008. The five lowest-ranked metro areas, allwith year-over-year declines of 22% or more, were all in the West.Only one metro area's PPSF saw an increase: Milwaukee, up 2.8% yearover year. Michael Feder, CEO of Radar Logic, was not available foradditional comment by deadline.

In the eight-county Philadelphia region, Q1 '08 home prices wereabout 4.1% above what they should be, according to Global Insight,an economic forecasting service based in Lexington, MA. Bycontrast, prices in the metro area were considered overvalued by10.1% in Q1 '07, according to Global Insight's "House Prices inAmerica," which looks at housing valuation in 330 markets acrossthe US. Currently, average singlefamily home prices in thePhiladelphia region are $235,200, compared to $236,300 in Q1 '07. AGlobal Insight spokesman declines to comment further.

In a prepared release from the Pennsylvania Association ofRealtors headquartered here, Austin Jaffe, Ph.D., chair of theDepartment of Insurance and Real Estate at the Smeal College ofBusiness at Penn State University, comments, "The era of easy moneyand exotic mortgages never took hold among homebuyers in thecommonwealth, so prices in Pennsylvania never increased as much oras quickly in other markets. There's no reason to expect thatprices will fall as much or as rapidly here."