The COVID-19 crisis could create opportunities for the Philadelphia region to thrive as a real estate market going forward, and buttress its reemergence as a center for business, according to an expert at Rittenhouse Appraisals. The fundamentals that have driven a recent real estate boom, largely remain, said Carlo L. Batts, MAI, principal of the Center City-based firm. There is a demand for housing and services created by an influx of well-paying jobs in the medical and science fields, and those job sectors tend to remain strong, said Batts.Batts’ firm provides real estate market research for institutional and private investors. And, though he acknowledged that the crisis has slowed the market, the interest in the region continues.Batts cited the West Philadelphia submarket, which has recently been one of the region’s hottest, as one that will likely power through the economic downturn, driven by demand in the multifamily and commercial sectors.“The area is incubating into a primary office submarket and further expansion as a medical submarket and the research parks and medical research and science expansion is going to continue,” Batts said. “Up until the shutdown you had a consistent movement of new development, whether it was the Schuylkill Yards development or out at 38th and Market, that were bringing an influx of new jobs.”Those jobs have largely tended to be medical related or scientific research positions, meaning they offer above average pay. That will fuel a demand for housing and services, which will drive the residential and commercial real estate development. READ MORE