Fitler Square doesn’t come up on most rental property investors’ radar, and honestly, that’s part of what makes it such a great place to own a rental property. It sits right next to Rittenhouse Square — arguably Philadelphia’s most well-known luxury neighborhood — but somehow it stays off everybody’s list. That’s a mistake I see investors make all the time, and I want to walk you through why my property management company loves managing units in Fitler Square.
Why Fitler Square Feels Different
Fitler Square is a pocket neighborhood. The Schuylkill River winds and creates these little pockets around it, and Fitler Square is one of them. What that means practically is there’s no transient foot traffic. Nobody is walking through Fitler Square to get somewhere else. If you’re physically in Fitler Square, you either live there or you’re there to service the neighborhood — which quite possibly is me and my team, because we manage a lot of properties there.
Compare that to Rittenhouse Square, which is a hub. People are constantly walking to Rittenhouse or through Rittenhouse to get somewhere else. Fitler Square is quiet. It’s tree-lined. It feels like a real neighborhood. And that’s the difference.
Luxury Without the Chaos
Home values in Society Hill and Rittenhouse Square probably beat out Fitler Square on the price tag. But hands down, Fitler Square has a more livable, more luxurious feel. You can walk out your door, take a very short walk, and be in the middle of everything Rittenhouse Square has to offer. But when you come home, it’s peaceful.
Look at what’s within walking distance:
- Rittenhouse Square
- 30th Street Station (giving you access to the entire country)
- Public transportation
- CHOP
- Penn — another major hospital and a major university
- The Schuylkill River Trail if you’re into exercise
Everything that makes Fitler Square desirable to a buyer makes it desirable to a tenant. When someone wants to buy a home to live in, they’re looking for the same things a tenant is looking for. Full stop.
The Tenant Profile in Fitler Square
The neighborhood attracts physicians, healthcare professionals, university faculty, professors, and attorneys. We’ve seen our share of professors renting in Fitler Square. There are empty nesters there too. I actually used to live in Fitler Square myself and loved it — I was even part of the group that put in the original dog park before it got upgraded.
Tenants in Fitler Square tend to stay longer. It’s a quieter environment, a safer-feeling environment, and it’s immediately accessible to JFK Boulevard where a lot of the law firms are. It has real neighborhood character — the park, the dog park, the Schuylkill River Trail, eateries where you’ll actually see your neighbors. It’s not isolated. It’s a community.
Why the Homeowner Percentage Matters
One thing that always makes an investment better is the percentage of homeowners around it. Homeowners take better care of their properties than tenants do — that’s just reality. If all your neighbors are homeowners cleaning their sidewalks and taking pride in their homes, and you have a rental property mixed in, your equity goes up. Your property is perceived better.
That’s one reason I’m always telling investors to be really careful with your property management company. I’m proud of the fact that I could put you into any one of our rental properties and you might not even know it was a rental. I don’t think the average landlord or the average property management company can say that.
We Can’t Keep Fitler Square Units Vacant
Here’s the reality: some of the properties we manage in Fitler Square are luxury palaces with garages. Some are pretty modest. It doesn’t matter. As soon as a tenant moves out, another tenant wants to move in. There’s an incredibly desirable elementary school in Fitler Square, and parents absolutely must be part of it. We rent these units very fast.
My property management company probably manages more properties in Fitler Square than anybody else, and I’m pretty sure the top-reviewed property management company in the neighboring area sees the same dynamic.
A Quick Note on Naval Square
Naval Square is right next to Fitler Square — gated community, four-story Toll Brothers townhomes, community center, community pools, parking. Very different animal. And here’s what we’ve learned: we can’t take a Naval Square applicant and offer them Fitler Square, and we can’t take a Fitler Square applicant and offer them Naval Square. The tenants who want one don’t want the other. They’re looking for a specific lifestyle. Something to keep in mind as an owner trying to find a tenant.
Screening Still Matters — Even in the Nice Neighborhoods
Our screening is identical no matter where the property is — Fitler Square, Rittenhouse Square, Port Richmond, Old City, doesn’t matter. But I’ll say this: certain neighborhoods like Old City or Northern Liberties attract a higher-energy lifestyle, and sometimes you’ll get applicants reaching for a little more than they can actually afford. So you have to be extra sharp there.
In Fitler Square, I think you’ll generally be a little safer with your applicants. That said, we’ve onboarded three different Fitler Square properties where the owners came to us already in distress with squatters and needing evictions. So even in Fitler Square, proper tenant screening is non-negotiable.
Fitler Square vs. Rittenhouse Square as an Investment
Is Fitler Square better than Rittenhouse Square for some investors? Obviously it depends on the property and the price you’re paying. But Rittenhouse Square has a lot of competition — everybody wants to live there, everybody wants to buy there, everybody wants to rent there. Fitler Square has the same demand from tenants but far fewer rentals available. So rents go up, and you get very nice cash flow relative to your debt — assuming you didn’t overpay.
The other huge benefit is equity. Investors focus so much on cash flow that they forget equity is a form of return too. Fitler Square properties are stable, and the equity increases are going to be very nice for you over time.
The Bottom Line
The most underrated thing about Fitler Square is its location. Tenants are not looking for rental properties — they’re looking for a home. That’s something a lot of rental property owners miss. Tenants are looking for their home, the same way you looked for yours when you bought it. Fitler Square gives them that. It gives them a lifestyle in abundance.
So yes, if you can afford it, Fitler Square is absolutely a great place to buy a rental property. My property management company manages quite a few units there, and the numbers speak for themselves.
But I’m just a humble Philadelphia property management company owner doing my best to answer your rental property investing questions. As always, happy rental property investing.
