"There's just such an abundance of apartments," Greg Hill, cofounder and managing partner of D3 Real Estate Development, told the Philadelphia Inquirer in July 2026. He was explaining why D3 and Concordia Group dropped a planned 307-unit apartment building from the second phase of North Bank, at 2001 Richmond St. near Penn Treaty Park. They will build 219 single-family townhouses there instead.
For someone deciding whether Fishtown is the right place to buy, that single change explains a lot. The Delaware riverfront has more rental units than it can easily fill, so several buildings are giving away months of free rent. Developers have responded by building homes to sell. The homes they are adding come under a less generous tax abatement than the homes already standing next to them. That makes the timing of your move and the tax status of a specific house more important here than any neighborhood median.
What 307 apartments became
In 2024, the plan for North Bank's second phase was a 307-unit apartment building near Richmond Street, 8,425 square feet of commercial space, and 135 townhouses closer to the river. The revised proposal is all townhouses, 219 of them, with 284 parking spaces for residents and 85 public spaces. The team expects a 24-month construction timeline.
The first phase, 475 townhouses at 2001 Beach St., has sold out. So the developer has evidence that for-sale homes on this stretch of river find buyers. On the rental side, Hill said that even with multifamily slowing, "there are still lots of new starts happening in this neighborhood," and that the investment team felt the timing "was not optimal to come on with another 300 units at this location."
The revised plan also brings something public. The developers plan to extend the Delaware River Trail from Penn Treaty Park, where it currently ends, to Graffiti Pier, and to add green space throughout the site. Matt Ruben, chair of the Central Delaware Advocacy Group, praised the trail extension and the green space. He was less enthusiastic about the site layout, which he said turns a "shoulder" to the water and the street, as many waterfront townhome developments of the past decade have.
The surplus is concentrated east, toward the river
Philadelphia's rental market as a whole has firmed up. Michael Pestronk, CEO of the Post Brothers, told the Inquirer the same week that core Northern Liberties has "basically fully recovered," with the first phase of Piazza Alta 98% leased. He said the glut persists in some parts of the city, "including just to the east along the Delaware River."
That stretch is Fishtown's riverfront and its blocks off Frankford Avenue. Here is what several buildings in the 19125 ZIP code were advertising on their own leasing pages as of October 3, 2026:
| Building | Address | Advertised offer | Stated deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Battery | 1325 N Beach St. | Up to two months free on select homes | None listed |
| The Rope House | 1130 N Delaware Ave. | Two months free, restrictions apply | "Limited time" |
| Fishtown Urby | Fishtown | Up to two months free plus a $1,000 Visa gift card | None listed |
| Avant | 1148 Frankford Ave. | Up to two months free | 10/31 |
| The Weaver | 1901 E York St. | Up to 2.5 months free | 10/31 |
The Weaver shares the 19125 ZIP code but describes itself as East Kensington. These are advertised specials, not signed leases, and they change often.
What a free month is actually worth
On a 12-month lease, two free months take about a sixth off the year's total rent. That is more than the typical discount across comparable parts of the city. In Newmark's report on Philadelphia's urban non-CBD submarkets for the second quarter of 2026, 22.6% of units offered concessions, and those concessions averaged 8.4% of asking rent. A year earlier, in Q2 2025, the figures were 18.4% and 7.3%. Effective rent in those submarkets was $1,755 in Q2 2026.
This matters for a buyer because it lowers the cost of waiting. A relocating household can lease near Beach Street or Frankford Avenue at a meaningful discount, learn the blocks firsthand, and buy once the right house appears instead of buying in a rush to stop paying full rent.
That window may not last. CoStar reported in August 2026 that Philadelphia concessions were still above historical levels but starting to ease from their winter highs. When Riverwards Group closed $37 million in construction financing on July 28, 2026, for a 155-unit building at 2507 Almond St. in Olde Richmond, the firm that arranged the loan said the submarket was absorbing its 2023 to 2025 supply wave. It expects a thinner construction pipeline to reduce rental competition going forward. That building is not slated to deliver until early 2028. Two of the offers in the table above expire on October 31.
The tax line inside one development
The for-sale side has a less obvious complication. The new supply Hill described is townhouses, and Philadelphia's 10-year abatement for new residential construction changed partway through North Bank's sales history.
According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, properties enrolled before January 1, 2022, exempt 100% of the added value for the full ten years. New residential construction enrolled on or after that date starts at 100% in year one, then drops by ten percentage points in each of the next nine years. The City of Philadelphia says the residential abatement starts the month after the title date. A property with an active 10-year residential abatement is not eligible for the Homestead Exemption, and the owner can apply for Homestead once the abatement expires.
North Bank's first phase launched in late 2020 with five models from 1,881 to 3,844 square feet. At launch, starting prices ran from the mid-$400,000s to the high-$800,000s. In 2021, the developer said those homes received a 100% abatement for ten years. The phase then sold through 2026. Townhouses that look nearly identical from the street may therefore carry different abatement terms and different amounts of time left on them. Under the rules as they stand, the 219 homes planned on Richmond Street would fall under the phased-down schedule.
For a resale anywhere in this part of Fishtown, these questions decide the real carrying cost:
- Which abatement program is the property enrolled in, and did it enroll before or after January 1, 2022?
- When did the abatement start, and how many years are left?
- In the current tax year, what percentage of the added value is still exempt?
- When the abatement ends, will the household be eligible to apply for the Homestead Exemption, and roughly what will the bill be then?
The City's Office of Property Assessment is the place to confirm a specific property's status. Your tax professional is the right person to turn those answers into numbers.
Where this leaves a buyer comparing Fishtown
Taken together, the rental and for-sale sides give a buyer more options than the median price suggests. The rental surplus lets you take your time choosing a home. On the ownership side, new construction is growing, and two homes on the same street can come with different tax terms. A newer home can look like the better deal on price and turn out to be the more expensive one to own if its exemption is shrinking ten points a year. An older rowhome a few blocks inland has none of that tax structure to work through.
Citywide data adds a little context, though none of it is specific to Fishtown. Bright MLS reported that in August 2026, the Philadelphia metro's median sold price was $425,000, up 4.9% from a year earlier. Homes spent a median of 14 days on market, and month-end active listings were up 14.2% year over year. More inventory across the region gives buyers more to choose from, but the homes still sold quickly. In a neighborhood where the abatement status of a particular house can change the monthly cost, being able to move quickly helps more if you have already asked the four questions above.
FAQ
Will the 219 North Bank townhouses be available soon? In July 2026 the developers projected 24 months of construction. As of that report, no pricing or sales launch had been announced for the Richmond Street phase.
Is Northern Liberties seeing the same rental discounts? According to the Post Brothers, core Northern Liberties has largely recovered, and the surplus is concentrated to the east along the Delaware River.
Does Mayor Parker's proposed 20-year abatement change any of this? As of the Inquirer's September 24, 2026, report, no bill had been introduced. The proposal targets redevelopment of derelict properties, not ordinary new townhouse construction.
If you're weighing a discounted Fishtown lease against buying now, or need help working out a specific townhouse's abatement timeline before you make an offer, Conchetta Park can map out both paths with you, including the questions to bring to the City. Let's Connect.
