In this solo commentary, Kevin Moyer of The Rowe Report acknowledges recent criticism of Philadelphia’s policy decisions, crime, and anti‑business climate, but argues that the city remains a compelling real‑estate investment. He frames real estate as a durable hedge against inflation, especially for owners of low‑interest, fixed‑rate mortgages, explaining how fixed payments become cheaper in real terms as the dollar weakens. Moyer illustrates the dollar’s decline by comparing the gold price needed to purchase a median home in 2020 (179 oz) versus 2026 (86 oz), showing that homes are effectively cheaper when priced in a hard asset. He acknowledges market uncertainty—stock volatility, bond yields, AI disruption—but emphasizes that housing demand is constant. Finally, he highlights Philadelphia’s enduring assets: world‑class medical and educational institutions, leading healthcare facilities, major sports franchises, robust public transit, rich historical and cultural sites, and a significant federal presence, arguing these fundamentals outweigh current policy and crime concerns and merit continued investment and “brotherly love.”
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Hey guys, Kevin Moyer with The Rowe Report here. I know I've been kind of hard on Philadelphia recently. I've not been thrilled with some of the decisions that policymakers are making in Philadelphia. Crime issues, there seems to be no favoritism towards business, towards people investing for capital, and I've been pretty hard on the city recently, but I wanted to do a video to white pill Philadelphia and why it actually is a great thing to invest, not just in real estate, but in Philadelphia in general. So bear with me here. I want to talk about a couple reasons why, despite some of the reasons why you should be hesitant, overall real estate is a great investment. Many great business leaders, industrialists, entrepreneurs all favor real estate as a great way to build wealth. It is lasting. It is permanent. It is immovable. And it really is a great way to store, accumulate, and grow wealth that can last generations. What are some of the main reasons that I'm floating it right now? Well, there are a lot of unknowns in the market right now regarding the stock market, bonds, what AI is going to do, and real estate is here. It will be here. People need a roof over their head. Let's talk about some of the reasons why in this era, in this age of financial uncertainty, That real estate wins. So to me, real estate, especially if you're holding a mortgage right now with a low interest rate, is the best possible hedge you can have against inflation. So if you look about, there's been a 50% increase to the money supply since right before COVID There are a lot more dollars in circulation, and the inflation as a result of this is not fully apparent in the economy yet, but it is, it is going there. Inflation is not ending anytime soon. So really, there are— let's think, the worst thing you can do in inflationary times is hold money under a mattress. That money gets less valuable over time. The next, you know, okay thing you can do is maybe invest it in productive assets, put it in the stock market. Fine, that money grows, the asset grows, it grows with inflation. But the greatest thing you can do during times of inflation is have fixed debt. So if you hold a 3% mortgage for a property over 30 years, that is your— that is a fantastic hedge against inflation. Think of it this way. When you get— when you take out your mortgage, let's say you took out your mortgage in 2016 and that mortgage payment cost $1,000 a month. That is essentially— that's, that's 1,000 cheeseburgers a month, right? 1,000 cheeseburgers pays your inflation. In 5 years, Maybe the cheeseburgers cost $2 now. It only— you only have to pay 500. You only have to make 500 cheeseburgers to make your payment. And then years after that, when cheeseburgers go to $10 each, now you only need 100 cheeseburgers to make that payment. So it used to cost you 1,000 cheeseburgers at the start of your mortgage. 10 years in, it costs you 100 cheeseburgers. Now your rent is increasing with inflation over time. Your rent has that flexibility. So your rent can increase and compound. Your cost for financing remains flat, it's a truly valuable tool to hedge against inflation over the long run. And I think if you're one of those people that are lucky enough to hold a low interest rate, you really should buckle down and take advantage of that and hold it into the long run as a great, fantastic hedge against inflation. And then if you're still on the outside looking in and you say, wow, I really want to own real estate, but it's too expensive. Yeah, you can say it's expensive, but I like to frame it as the dollar is really weak right now. So the value of the dollar is decreasing rapidly. If you actually look, if you price a house in gold, it took you 179 ounces of gold to buy a median home in 2020. It only takes you 86 ounces of gold to buy that same home today in 2026. So nominally, Yes, the home price has increased, but relative to another hard asset, stable hard asset in gold, your home is actually significantly cheaper. It's the dollar that is weak. So keep that in mind. Hold strong. If you're struggling a little bit from a cash flow perspective, you have that low interest rate, consider jumping in even if it looks scary based on the current numbers. Riding this wave for quite some time. Inflation will increase, appreciation will increase, home values will increase. There's no stopping that train anytime soon. And let's not forget what Philadelphia in particular has to offer. Yeah, there are some policy mistakes that are currently being made. Yeah, we have some criminal issues, we have some anti-business issues in Philadelphia that don't make it appealing necessarily to purchase and invest and inject capital here. But there are great things that Philly has that are not going anywhere. Meds and Eds, our great university systems, leading healthcare facilities internationally. We have our sports teams, our major sports teams, great public infrastructure for moving people around through subways, history, rich history in Philadelphia, museums, federal presence. Philly is still a great place and has a lot going for it. So, Show the city some brotherly love, stick it out, and continue your real estate investment journey and go through Philadelphia.
