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Philadelphia’s realty transfer tax, already one of the highest in the nation, will soon include a new fee. Last month City Council unanimously passed a bill that would add an additional $15 fee onto each transfer of real estate or recording of a deed or mortgage in...

In the two-plus years since the pandemic emptied America’s office towers, there have been dozens of media reports speculating about the future of downtowns. This column isn’t one of them. It should be obvious by now that desk workers will never again fill the trophy...

America is in the grips of a nationwide housing shortage that totals about 3.8 million housing units. Last week, the New York Times published an informative analysis showing how this problem has moved beyond just the big cost-crisis metros on the coasts, and now...

Last year, Congress allocated $3.5 billion over five years to a little-known federal program designed to help low-income households pay for energy efficiency upgrades like attic insulation, new windows, and energy-saving appliances. Called the Weatherization...

In spite of it happening a week late and controversies arising about a number of funding issues, the Pennsylvania General Assembly once again managed to pass a budget. As always there was some good, some bad, and some ugly in the process. Perhaps the worst of the bad...

Struggling homeowners and renters could get some financial relief under the newly passed state budget, with over $250 million set for tax rebates and a home repair program. A later-than-expected state budget — buoyed by pandemic-era federal stimulus money — included...

Under the state budget passed last week, Pennsylvania’s conservation programs will receive a one-time, pandemic-related federal booster shot of $765 million for state parks, forests, streams, open space, farms, and home energy efficiency — an amount one environmental...

With a $45 billion state budget finally implemented, Pennsylvania schools, businesses and housing projects are the big winners. Each is slated to receive substantially more funding in the new fiscal year. State lawmakers last week unveiled a plan to spend an...

As leaders in the Pennsylvania General Assembly negotiated the 2022-23 budget in recent weeks, the House and Senate sent a slate of controversial and potentially transformative stand-alone legislation to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk. On Friday, Wolf signed the roughly $45...

Three new housing policies by state and city officials aim to preserve and grow the amount of housing that residents can afford. Included in the Pennsylvania budget is $125 million for home repairs and weatherization intended to preserve the state’s aging housing...

Residents of Pennsylvania homeowners will experience financial relief after State Senator Nikil Saval’s Whole Home Repairs Act was included last week as part of the new state budget. It allocates $125 million in funding for home repairs and weatherization costs across...

Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon announced that Philadelphia International Airport is being granted $24 million from the Federal Aviation Administration through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that she voted to pass last fall. The competitive grant for...

Several programs to aid homeowners and landlords are part of the $45 billion state budget passed Friday. Pennsylvania will put $375 million in unspent money from the federal American Rescue Plan toward the three housing programs. Low-income housing projects which are...

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers have sent Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf a $45.2 billion spending plan that boosts education spending by more than $1 billion, creates a new child care tax credit, and squirrels away money for a rainy day. The wide-reaching budget,...

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers have agreed on a plan to use $2.2 billion in remaining federal stimulus money from the pandemic on housing, conservation, and child care programs. The agreement came as the state finalized a $45.2 billion budget a week...

Pennsylvanians will soon be able to get state assistance to pay for home repairs, thanks to a new program that lawmakers passed Friday as part of the state budget. The program represents an unusual victory for progressive Democrats, and is a rare example of...

Pennsylvania lawmakers have finally approved a $45.2 billion spending plan, sending it to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature. The state House passed the budget bill in a 180-20 vote on Thursday — a week past its initial deadline. The state Senate followed with...