Sell Your Warehouse or Industrial Building in Philadelphia

Direct Warehouse Buyers buys industrial buildings across Philadelphia, from Port Richmond and Northeast Philadelphia to Southwest Philadelphia. We're part of a family-owned business that has been operating for over 15 years. We buy as-is, through our own company, so you don't list the building, fix it up or pay a commission.

Selling in Philadelphia comes with its own rules. They include a sales certificate from Licenses and Inspections, a license for vacant buildings, a 4.578% transfer tax and a zoning code with six industrial districts.

Philadelphia at a glance

Industrial space tracked

28.9 million sq ft, 13.0% vacant (Q3 2026)Source: Cushman & Wakefield, Q3 2026

Warehouse asking rent

$15.14 per sq ft a year, net, for warehouse and distribution space (Q3 2026)Source: Cushman & Wakefield, Q3 2026

Transfer tax

4.578%: 3.578% City and 1% state, since July 1, 2025Source: City of Philadelphia, checked October 2026

Real estate tax

1.3998% of assessed value: 0.6159% City and 0.7839% School District, unchanged since 2016Source: City of Philadelphia, checked October 2026

To sell

A Property Sales Certification from L&I: $139, about five business daysSource: City of Philadelphia, checked October 2026

Industrial zoning

I-1, I-2, I-3 and I-P, plus the ICMX and IRMX mixed-use districtsSource: Philadelphia Zoning Code, checked October 2026

Main highways

I-95, I-76 (the Schuylkill Expressway), I-676 and US 1 (Roosevelt Boulevard), with four Delaware River road bridges to New JerseySources: DRPA and Wikipedia, checked October 2026

Freight centers

8 named by the region's planning commission, including the port complexes in South Philadelphia and at Tioga and both airportsSource: DVRPC, 2025

Do you buy warehouses and industrial buildings in Philadelphia?

Yes, anywhere in the city: a multi-story factory in Kensington, a warehouse in Port Richmond or Bridesburg, a plant in Hunting Park or a truck terminal in Southwest Philadelphia. Direct Warehouse Buyers buys as-is, in any size or condition, whether the building is vacant, leased or still in use, and an environmental history doesn't rule it out.

The market prices different kinds of industrial space very differently. Across the Philadelphia region in the third quarter of 2026, Cushman & Wakefield's average asking rent for manufacturing space was $9.52 per square foot a year, net. Warehouse and distribution space was $12.97. If your building is an older plant, we want to see it. See what we buy.

What does it cost to sell an industrial building in Philadelphia?

Philadelphia's realty transfer tax is 4.578% of the price, 3.578% to the City and 1% to the state. On a $2 million sale, that's $91,560. The City says buyer and seller usually split it evenly, though the law doesn't require that, and the City can collect all of it from either one.

The rest settles at closing, on the title company's statement:

• Your share of the transfer tax, as the agreement of sale sets it
• Your mortgage payoff and any liens or judgments
• Prorated real estate taxes, at 1.3998% of the assessed value a year, and on a leased building, prorated rent and tenant deposits

Every sale in the city also needs the $139 Property Sales Certification from L&I. Selling to us adds no commission and no fees. On a listed sale you'd also pay the commission in your listing agreement, which Sell Direct or List? compares line by line.

Our worked example of a $2,500,000 sale runs the 4.578% tax and a sample mortgage payoff, next to the same sale in the suburbs and in New Jersey.

What does Philadelphia require before you sell?

A Property Sales Certification from Licenses and Inspections. Pennsylvania law requires one to sell any real estate in Philadelphia, commercial or residential. It costs $139, takes about five business days, and states the property's zoning, its last established use and any uncorrected violations. It's based on City records, not an inspection.

L&I's bulletin on the certificate says it "does not certify compliance with the Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code." It tells the buyer what the City's records show, and that's what our review starts from too.

Two more City rules matter at a sale:

• New owner, same use: a new certificate of occupancy isn't required when ownership or tenancy changes, as long as the approved use stays the same.
• A new use: changing a property's use takes a zoning permit. The City's own example is converting a warehouse into artist studios. For uses other than one- and two-family homes, the filing fee is $100, applied toward the permit's final cost, and the permit fee is $189 for each permitted use.

Open violations don't rule a building out. Tell us what the City has cited, and we'll price it in.

What if my Philadelphia building is vacant?

Once a commercial property has been vacant more than three months, with no construction under way or scheduled, the City of Philadelphia requires a Vacant Commercial Property License. It costs $202 a year, plus a bond sized to the building, from $50,000 to $500,000, or a letter of credit instead. We buy vacant buildings as they are, boarded up or not.

The bond depends on the building's total square footage, not counting the basement:

• Under 50,000 square feet: a $50,000 bond
• 50,000 to 200,000 square feet: a $100,000 bond
• Over 200,000 square feet: a $500,000 bond

The bond covers the City's potential cost of correcting code violations or dealing with unsafe conditions, and a letter of credit can stand in for it.

Boarded openings bring a separate rule. Under the Property Maintenance Code, section PM-901.2, the owner of a building missing framed, glazed windows or doors must install real ones; boards or masonry don't count. It applies on a block face where 80% or more of the buildings are occupied. On any other block, it applies once the code official determines that the missing windows or doors have a significant adverse influence on the community. The official must also give the owner 30 days' notice. In 2018, in a case over a vacant former brewery, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated lower-court rulings that had held an earlier version of the rule unconstitutional. It sent the case back to the trial court.

The owner of a vacant, commercially or industrially zoned property with a building over 5,000 square feet must register it with the city right away. A new owner must register it within five days of taking title. The owner then inspects it within 15 days and at least every two weeks after that, which is part of what we plan for when we buy.

Add the real estate tax, and an empty building costs money every month it waits. If you're deciding whether to keep paying to hold it, a written offer gives you a number to compare with those costs. Our vacant building page covers insurance limits and the other costs of holding an empty building.

How does zoning affect selling an industrial property in Philadelphia?

Zoning sets what a buyer can do with the building, which shapes who will pay the most for it. Philadelphia's zoning code has six industrial districts: I-1 Light, I-2 Medium, I-3 Heavy and I-P Port Industrial, plus the ICMX and IRMX mixed-use districts. Philadelphia's Atlas tool shows your parcel's zoning, permits and violations.

Zoning can also change. In June 2026, the City Planning Commission voted in favor of bills that would remap industrial parcels. One would move land from ICMX to CMX-3, a commercial mixed-use district. Another, approved with amendments, would rezone 2730 Frankford Avenue from I-2 to RM-1, a residential multi-family district. If your parcel's zoning has changed, or a change is proposed, tell us. It's part of what we price. For terminals, storage yards and truck parking, our page on truck terminals and yards shows which districts allow each use.

Where are Philadelphia's industrial areas?

The 2010 industrial land study prepared for PIDC, the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, surveyed 15 industrial districts, from Southwest and Grays Ferry to the Northeast and Roxborough. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) adds eight freight centers. They are Bridesburg, Tacony, Hunting Park, Girard Point, the Northeast Philadelphia and Philadelphia International airports, and the port complexes in South Philadelphia and at Tioga.

DVRPC sorts its 2025 centers by the kind of industry each holds:

• International gateway (a major port or airport): South Philadelphia Port Complex, Tioga Port Complex and Philadelphia International Airport
• Heavy industrial: Philadelphia-Bridesburg
• Distribution and logistics: Philadelphia-Girard Point and Northeast Philadelphia Airport
• Local manufacturing and distribution (smaller, general-purpose buildings used by small businesses): Philadelphia-Hunting Park and Philadelphia-Tacony

The port, the Navy Yard and the Bellwether District

PhilaPort's public terminals include the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal (160 acres) and the Tioga Marine Terminal (116 acres). They also include Piers 78, 80, 82 and 84, Piers 122 and 124 and the SouthPort Auto Terminal. In September 2025, PhilaPort said it had bought the 152-acre Mustin Yard from Norfolk Southern, land that was originally part of the Navy Yard.

PIDC manages and develops the Navy Yard, a 1,200-acre campus acquired from the federal government in 2000. Its 2025 annual review counts more than 150 companies and 16,000 employees there, with the campus 96% occupied. Along the Schuylkill, the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery is being rebuilt as the Bellwether District, about 1,300 acres in South and Southwest Philadelphia. DrinkPAK was announced as its first tenant, WHYY reported, and the Governor's office says TerraPower Isotopes will lease a 250,000-square-foot building built for it there.

Highways and bridges

I-95 runs along the Delaware River through the whole city, from the airport and South Philadelphia past Center City, Port Richmond, Bridesburg and Tacony into Bensalem. I-76 follows the Schuylkill Expressway through the city and crosses to New Jersey on the Walt Whitman Bridge. US 1, Roosevelt Boulevard, runs from I-76 through Hunting Park to Northeast Philadelphia and the Bucks County line. Three Delaware River Port Authority bridges reach Camden County. The Ben Franklin Bridge runs from Center City to Camden, the Walt Whitman Bridge from South Philadelphia to Gloucester City and the Betsy Ross Bridge from Northeast Philadelphia to Pennsauken. The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge links Tacony with Palmyra in Burlington County.

What records will a buyer check on a Philadelphia property?

Mostly public ones. Philadelphia's Atlas tool shows a property's licenses, permits, violations, zoning history and assessments, plus its deed and mortgage history. The Office of Property Assessment's site, property.phila.gov, shows ownership, value and physical characteristics. We look at the same records before we make an offer.

A few more things a buyer weighs here:

• The assessment. OPA values commercial property from recent sales, operating costs, income, or the cost of land and construction. It plans citywide revaluations every other year. It skipped tax year 2026 and began mailing tax year 2027 valuation notices the week of June 30, 2026.
• The stormwater charge. The Philadelphia Water Department bills non-residential property for stormwater by the parcel's gross area and its impervious area, such as roofs and paving. Credits can lower the charge, and stormwater grants for non-residential owners, awarded with PIDC, can pay for retrofit projects. Our truck terminals page estimates the charge for a paved one-acre lot.
• Open violations and licenses. The Property Sales Certification lists uncorrected violations, and a vacant building's license status shows up in the City's records.

Can I sell a Philadelphia building with environmental problems?

Yes. Tanks in the ground, past spills and open cleanup cases all go into our price. Pennsylvania's Act 2 Land Recycling Program applies in Philadelphia as it does statewide. If any part of your site went through it, bring the reports and any letters from the state's Department of Environmental Protection.

Industrial land with a past gets reused here, from the Navy Yard to the former refinery that is becoming the Bellwether District. Our FAQ covers environmental questions in more depth, and How It Works explains how we handle them in an offer. Our page on selling with environmental problems walks through Act 2.

What should I have ready to sell a warehouse in Philadelphia?

Atlas and property.phila.gov fill in much of the rest, and we check both. How It Works covers each step from the first call to closing, and our seller's guide lists the documents any buyer will ask for, and why.

Other places we buy

Beyond the city line, we buy in Bucks County, Montgomery County and Delaware County, and across the river in Camden County, Burlington County and Gloucester County, New Jersey. See the map of all seven counties.