With real-estate prices that can accommodate first-time buyers, Collingdale also has the potential to lure investors looking for homes to fix and flip or keep and rent, writes Alan Heaven for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The first-quarter median sale price in Collingdale was $67,000, according to market reports. And although 61 homes for sale in the Delco borough of nearly 9,000 people isn’t a lot, it’s a start.

“That’s an absorption rate of about four months, which isn’t all that bad,” said Barbara M. Mastronardo, associate broker at Weichert Realtors in Media.

According to Heavens, absorption rate is the number of months it would take to sell the homes that are currently listed for sale if no others were listed in the interim. Less than six months means the market is in equilibrium and definitely favoring sellers.

Shortages of houses for sale appear to be an unwelcome element of this year’s spring market, one result of potential sellers’ lingering concerns that prices haven’t risen enough since the housing bubble burst to make putting their homes on the market worthwhile.

There is an atmosphere of stability here, starting with the mayor, Frank Kelly, who is serving his 11th consecutive four-year term.

Residents are proud of their police department, offering a level of support that was noted in an article in People magazine in October 2015. The department’s Facebook page shows residents praising the officers for taking the time to do everyday things, including helping with a sick cat.

Forty-one properties have gone to settlement in the last six months, Mastronardo says, priced from $10,000 for an “as-is investor special” to $148,400.

“You can pick up something there for $100,000 to $150,000,” she says, adding that “commercial properties are a better deal, since you can have a business downstairs and live or rent apartments upstairs.”

Click here to read more about Collingdale in the Philadelphia Inquirer.