Cedar Market Monitor · Urban Infill
The Cedar Market Monitor is a monthly newsletter for the people building Philadelphia's housing. We use public permit data to show where the market is heading: where new homes are going, how long approvals take, and who's building. This issue covers September 2026, with data through 6 November 2026.
Permit snapshot
What got permitted
Buildings of two to four homes carried 105 of September’s 142 infill homes.
Over twelve months infill homes are up 26%, and the missing middle (two to four homes) was 54% of them, up from 43% the year before. Homes, not permits.
Pipeline
5,318 homes permitted since January 2025 haven’t been finished yet.
That’s the supply still coming: 80% of the 6,683 homes permitted in that time. 67% are in apartment buildings (5+ homes), and five ZIPs hold 38% of them, led by 19125 (538) and 19104 (436). Most permits get built: 79% of homes permitted 2016–22 were finished.
Teardowns
Five ZIP codes had 44% of Philadelphia’s 87 home teardowns in the last twelve months.
| ZIP | Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 | Year before |
|---|---|---|
| 1. 19125 | 10 | 7 |
| 2. 19134 | 10 | 5 |
| 3. 19146 | 7 | 9 |
| 4. 19104 | 6 | 3 |
| 5. 19144 | 5 | 5 |
Private whole-house demolitions inside the City of Philadelphia, one per lot per year: 25 ZIPs in all (84 teardowns Oct 2024 – Sep 2025).
Permit issue time
A single-family permit takes a median 58 days to issue.
| Building type | Permits with a review time | Median days | Excl. slowest 10% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-family | 199 of 596 | 58 | 51 |
| 2–4 units | 149 of 249 | 79 | 75 |
| Multifamily & mixed use | 32 of 99 | 105 | 101 |
Median days from plan-review submission to issue, permits issued Oct 2025 – Sep 2026. The last column removes the slowest 10% to account for stalled applications. Review times come from the City’s plan-review records, which match 40% of the new-home permits issued in the last twelve months; permits without a plan review are not measured.
Where
Five ZIP codes carried 69% of September’s infill homes.
| ZIP | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1. 19131 | 34 | 24% |
| 2. 19133 | 24 | 17% |
| 3. 19146 | 18 | 13% |
| 4. 19121 | 11 | 8% |
| 5. 19125 | 11 | 8% |
Fastest riser: 19133, from 44 to 82 infill homes in Jul–Sep 2026 against a year earlier. Only permits inside the City of Philadelphia are counted, so ZIPs that straddle the city line show the city’s part only. ZIPs come from each permit’s geocoded address.
Who’s building
Lynx Management Solutions LLC led with 55 homes in the last six months.
| Builder | Homes | Permits |
|---|---|---|
| Lynx Management Solutions LLC | 55 | 17 |
| SPRUCE BUILDERS LLC | 51 | 51 |
| SZM Group LLC | 45 | 17 |
| DALE CORP | 41 | 39 |
| BORCO CONSTRUCTION LLC | 34 | 17 |
Infill homes permitted April – September 2026, out of 683. The permit holder is usually the general contractor rather than the developer, and one firm can appear under several names. 8 homes on 2 permits (1% of homes) name no holder and are not ranked.