Philadelphia Rental Market September 2026: 19136 Deep Dive — Holmesburg, Pennypack, Winchester Park & Mayfair
A year ago, zip code 19136 was renting in about 33 days, right alongside the best of the Northeast. In September 2026 it sits at 55 days on market, with a $225 gap between what landlords ask and what tenants actually pay. Northeast Philadelphia has long been the dependable market: steady rowhomes, steady families, steady rents. So what changed? The answer is part market shift and part self-inflicted, and the data shows exactly where.
Philadelphia Rental Market in September 2026: The Citywide Baseline
| Metric | September 2026 |
|---|---|
| New units listed | 1,659 |
| Units rented | 1,185 |
| Median listed rent | $1,800 |
| Median rented price | $1,775 |
| Gap between listed and rented | $25 (about 1%) |
| Median days on market | 58 days (up from 46 in August) |
| Months supply of inventory | 2.5 |
| October inventory | 4,072 units (down from about 4,400 a year ago) |
Citywide landlords are pricing accurately. Days on market jumped because the seasonal slowdown is here: school-year moves are done and the slowest stretch of the year begins. At 55 days, 19136 is roughly in line with the citywide 58, so part of what it is feeling is the same seasonal slowdown as everyone else. The number to hold onto is the gap: $25 citywide versus $225 in 19136, nine times bigger.
What 19136 Is
19136 sits in the lower Northeast along the Delaware River, split down the middle by Pennypack Creek.
- About 36,000 to 39,000 residents and roughly 13,000 households
- Neighborhoods: Holmesburg (the historic core along Frankford Avenue and one of the oldest settlements in the Northeast), Pennypack, Winchester Park and the northern edge of Mayfair
- Housing stock: classic Northeast rowhomes and twins built primarily in the 1940s, with Pennypack Park as a green spine through the middle
- Density: about 6,500 to 8,000 people per square mile, compared with 30,000-plus in the South Philadelphia zips
- Median household income: roughly $57,000 to $65,000 depending on source and year, with childhood poverty around 26% in Holmesburg
- Median home value: about $236,000 per Zillow, up 5% over the past year, with homes going pending in about 16 days
The tenant base is working families who are price-sensitive and need three or more bedrooms. Rentals in 19136 are mostly 3-plus bedroom product. This is a stable, livable family neighborhood, not a distressed market, which makes the rental numbers more interesting.
Transit and Anchors
19136 has no subway. The Frankford Transportation Center is a zip code away, so tenants rely on the bus network along Frankford and Torresdale avenues and the Holmesburg Junction Regional Rail station on the Trenton line. South Philadelphia zips like 19145 and 19148 sit directly on the Broad Street Line, which matters more to renters every year.
The local anchors are Pennypack Park (over 1,600 acres of parkland), the Frankford Avenue commercial corridor, and Holmesburg's deep history.
September 2026 Rental Data for 19136
The MLS Numbers
| Metric | 19136 | Citywide |
|---|---|---|
| Units listed | 16 | 1,659 |
| Closed leases | 5 | 1,185 |
| Median listed rent | $1,625 | $1,800 |
| Median rented price | $1,400 | $1,775 |
| Gap (listed vs rented) | $225 (about 14%) | $25 (about 1%) |
| Median days on market | 55 | 58 |
| End-of-month inventory | 19 units | — |
| October starting inventory | 20 units (up from 14 a year ago, +43%) | — |
This was a thin month, and five closed leases is not a statistically robust sample. But even a thin month tells a story when every indicator points the same direction. Only one unit was pending at month's end, which means the October pipeline is nearly empty, while inventory is building in a small market.
Zillow: A Chunk of This Market Rents Off the MLS
Zillow currently shows about 39 active rentals in 19136, more than double what the MLS shows. As in 19120, a share of this market rents off the MLS. Zillow's median asking rent for the zip is $1,400, which matches the MLS median close. Tenants are telling landlords where the market is.
Why the Northeast Is Trailing South Philadelphia
1. Self-Inflicted Overpricing
A year ago the median list price in 19136 was $1,425. Today it is $1,625, a 14% increase in asking rents in one year. Tenant incomes did not rise 14%. Median household income of $57,000 to $65,000 supports roughly $1,400 to $1,600 in rent at healthy rent-to-income ratios.
Landlords watched citywide rents climb, watched their assessments, insurance and costs climb, and repriced upward. The tenant base on the other side of the application cannot pay it, and the market said no. That is the $225 gap. Seasonal slowdown explains the 55 days. It does not explain a gap nine times the citywide norm. That part is pricing.
2. The Demand Wave Moved South
The income story is real in parts of South Philadelphia, where young, high-earning renters concentrate near the Broad Street Line, East Passyunk and the planned arena. 19146 and 19145 have seen strong income growth, and Lower Moyamensing is up about 12.5% in a single year. The Northeast tenant base is working families whose incomes grew far more slowly. Demand did not vanish in the Northeast. It just did not grow, while landlord expectations did.
3. Buyers Are Taking the Tenants
Homes in 19136 go pending in 16 days at a median price around $236,000. At that price, a monthly mortgage payment runs roughly $1,800 to $1,950 all-in, not dramatically more than the $1,625 asking rent. Nationally, Zillow data shows renting beating buying by around $1,000 a month on average, but in 19136 that gap nearly closes. The strongest would-be tenants, dual-income working families, are buying houses instead of renting them. The hot sales market is absorbing the top of the rental demand pool.
What to Do If You Own in 19136
- Price at the market, not at your hopes. For a standard 3-bedroom, $1,400 to $1,500. Renovated units with laundry and parking can earn a premium. At $1,625 you will likely sit through the 55-day average and cut your price anyway.
- Prioritize retention. In a thin market with one pending unit, losing a paying tenant in November could mean a vacancy far into January. Fight for your renewals.
- Know your exit math. With homes going pending in 16 days at rising prices, the sales market gives you a fast, strong exit if a unit no longer pencils as a rental. That is not defeat. It is part of management.
The Bottom Line
19136 is not a broken market. It is a stable, family-oriented lower Northeast neighborhood with a hot sales market. What is broken is the pricing. Asking rents jumped 14% in a year in a zip where tenant incomes did not move, and the result is 55 days on market and a $225 gap between ask and close. The Northeast has not lost its fundamentals. It lost its pricing discipline just as demand concentrated in South Philadelphia.
Own a Rental in 19136 or Nearby?
If your Northeast unit has been sitting, a real rental analysis is exactly what it is for. TrustArt Realty pulls actual comps for your block and tells you the number that rents in 30 days, not the number that sits for 90. It is free for our listeners. Email trustartrealty@phillylandlordguy.com or schedule a free consultation.
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