Paul Jablow

Paul Jablow is a longtime journalist who now writes about residential real estate and home life for The Philadelphia Inquirer, focusing on narrative profiles of individual homes and the ways people live in them. He spent more than three decades in newspaper newsrooms as a reporter and editor before retiring from the Inquirer in 2003, and continues to contribute as a freelance writer for the masthead.

House of the week and residential profiles

Jablow’s core real estate work centers on the recurring House of the week franchise, where he turns individual listings into detailed portraits of specific properties. Recent pieces range from a two-bedroom townhouse in Bella Vista for $499,000 to a six-bedroom Victorian twin in University City, showing his attention to both compact urban homes and larger historic properties. He has profiled an end-unit townhouse in Elkins Park listed at $499,000 and a mid-century modern home in Drexel Hill for $729,900, reflecting a consistent focus on varied architectural styles and price points across the region.

His coverage extends across city neighborhoods and suburbs, including a historic five-bedroom house in Media, a four-bedroom Craftsman in Havertown, and a three-bedroom rowhouse in Point Breeze. In each case, he anchors the story in concrete details: the number of bedrooms, the type of house, and the asking price, such as a renovated three-bedroom home in Roxborough listed at $449,900 or an 18th-century farmhouse in Chester County offered at $624,900. He routinely notes listing agents and brokerages, weaving these transactional elements into accessible descriptions of the homes themselves.

Architecture, history, and distinctive homes

Across these profiles, Jablow consistently highlights architecture and historical character as central to a property’s appeal. The Victorian twin in University City, the Craftsman in Havertown, and the mid-century modern home in Drexel Hill all foreground style in the headline, signaling his interest in how design shapes a home’s identity. His feature on an 18th-century farmhouse in Chester County emphasizes the age of the structure, the one-acre setting, and the presence of two barns, underscoring a sensitivity to both period features and the surrounding landscape.

He also writes about how owners reshape older houses, as in his story “A ‘new old house,’” where a Center City couple modernize their home by hiring the architect of another residence they admired. That piece shows him following the full arc of a renovation: from the desire to update a space to the design decisions that blend contemporary needs with an existing structure. Together, these stories mark a sub-beat in his work—architecture, history, and the lived experience of distinctive homes—rather than purely market or investment angles.

Home design, maintenance, and everyday spaces

Beyond listings, Jablow has reported on how people inhabit and adjust their homes in response to broader social shifts. In a feature framed around social isolation and video chats, he examines how increased time at home and on camera has renewed attention to the presentation of domestic spaces. This perspective situates interior choices and home décor within the context of changing daily routines, not just aesthetics.

He has also contributed practical service journalism on home maintenance, such as a “Your Place” column on filling in uneven spots on wood siding. That piece focuses on a specific repair challenge, translating technical details into straightforward guidance for homeowners. Earlier work on design and home life adds depth to his real estate beat, showing that he covers houses not only as assets to be bought and sold but as places to repair, arrange, and use.

Long newsroom experience and voice

Jablow’s current real estate coverage is shaped by a long career as a reporter and editor at the Inquirer. He has written book reviews and features for the masthead, including a biography of General Douglas MacArthur described as a rewarding read and a review of James Carville and Mary Matalin’s memoir, which carry the same concise, evaluative tone he brings to his property pieces. Earlier essays, such as a reflection on saying goodbye to the South, show his comfort with personal narrative and broader cultural themes.

Public profiles describe him as having spent roughly 30 years at the Inquirer and adapting journalistic methods to other forms of writing after his newsroom tenure. Colleagues and contemporaries have cited his reporting maxims in teaching settings, reinforcing his reputation for craft and discipline in deadline writing. In his real estate work, that background translates into clear structure, careful attention to facts about each property, and an emphasis on how a house’s design, history, and everyday use can be conveyed in a compact, readable story.