Center City increased its share of the region's office space from 27% to 28%, reversing a 15-year decline from a 41% market share in 1993. "With SEPTA now secure with dedicated funding and committed to increased frequencies and improved customer service, downtown has a significant opportunity to capitalize on its walkable, amenity-rich environment, its proximity to institutions of higher learning and its position at the center of the region's highly skilled labor market," the report says.

The majority of Center City residents have relatively short commutes, with many either walking to their jobs or taking public transportation. Levy notes, "63% of Center City's residents work downtown—so there is a direct relationship between increasing office jobs and the strong growth in downtown housing. The steady expansion of health care and educational sector jobs is also a strong driver of downtown housing demand." This couples with a "favorable" cost of living: a Center City homeowner earning $83,687, the average annual wage of professional services employees here, would have to earn 11% more in Washington, DC and 73% more in New York City to enjoy the same standard of living. These factors helped keep housing prices and rents strong, although for-sale units stayed on the market longer than in previous years, in keeping with national trends, according to the report.

However, one effect of the subprime meltdown has not affected Center City: Philadelphia's foreclosure rate is the lowest of the 10 major metropolitan areas and has actually declined since 2006, the report says. The average condo price in '07 was $482,596, while 115 units sold for more than $1 million, double the number that crossed this price threshold in '06.

In retail, Center City's occupancy rate stands at 88%, according to the report, with a net increase of 50 new premises last year. The report says that "weak blocks" on East Market and East Chestnut streets will be transformed by continued retail improvements in the coming years.

On the hospitality side, average daily room rates in Center City rose 7% in '07 to $167.56. Occupancy rates last year were 73.6%, "their highest in more than a decade." and "At least 15 proposed projects, totaling over 3,500 additional rooms, are in the planning or financing phase for sites north and west of City Hall in close proximity to the Pennsylvania Convention Center." However, "A tightening credit market will probably limit the number of projects that come to completion, but Center City's regional share will definitely grow by 2011."

Levy cites three key factors in Center City's continued growth: its centralized location amid the region's transportation network, "with strong transit service, giving regional employers access to a 360-degree labor market;" its "broad array" of amenities for office workers, including restaurants, retail, arts and cultural institutions; and its density and compactness. He notes that 40% of downtown residents walk to work, "the highest percentage in the nation."