Philadelphia, PA Rental Investment Market: DSCR & STR Numbers (June 2026)

The Read

What the numbers say about investing in Philadelphia

Philadelphia, PA's rent-to-price ratio is 0.54% — thin by DSCR standards. A $345,000 median price producing $1,870 in monthly rent means the typical deal struggles to cover PITIA at standard leverage, so DSCR borrowers here usually need larger down payments, interest-only structures, or below-median purchases to make the ratio work.

That ratio is below the 0.71% median of our 15-metro DSCR leaderboard, and Philadelphia, PA is one of the 25 major metros we track beyond the ranked leaderboard, scoring 67/100 on the same formula. Rent growth is running 3.4% year over year — modest momentum that helps coverage drift up over time without rescuing a deal that doesn't pencil now. Effective property tax of 0.96% is middle-of-the-pack — not a deal-changer either way, but it belongs in your PITIA math, not an afterthought.

Here's the honest math: at 20% down and today's indicative rate, the median Philadelphia deal computes to roughly a 0.79 DSCR — below 1.0, meaning the rent doesn't fully cover the payment. That doesn't make the market uninvestable, but it does mean DSCR financing at the median price point requires bigger down payments, no-ratio programs at a premium, or deals bought meaningfully below the median.

Philadelphia isn't on our short-term-rental board — the opportunity we track here is the long-term rental engine: Pennsylvania lease economics, DSCR qualification, and rent momentum. Treat every number on this page as a metro-level screen, not an appraisal: rents and prices vary block by block, so run your actual address through the calculator and get a real quote before you write offers.

Data as of June 2026 — refreshed monthly. Metro-level estimates for screening, not underwriting.

Philadelphia investor FAQ