Public Records
Edition
PhiladelphiaBuilt on public City of Philadelphia recordsJuly 9, 2026

Who owns your block

1700 block of N 42nd St

An investor-heavy block: 42% of the parcels are held by LLCs or companies, with 26 open code violations and 2 homes behind $24,064 on taxes.

The typical home here is up 695% since 2016, now about $60K. Property taxes are climbing about 21% a year.

Every parcel on the block, colored by who owns it. Tap a parcel for the owner and its city record.

By the Numbers

Median value
$60K
$46K–$744K
ZIP median $211K
Price / sq ft
$108
typical home
city median $177
Vs. Philadelphia
0.3×
the city median
city $223K
Tax / yr
$2K
typical · up to $6K
city ≈$3K/yr
Tax abatements
2 of 26
$20K/yr forgone
Owner-occupied
12%
3 of 26
city 41%
Rentals
15%
4 licensed
city 15% of homes
Open violations
26
L&I code
▲ block 23% · city 5%
Back taxes
$24K
2 of 26 behind
▼ block 8% · city 9%
Zoning appeals
6
5 homes · ZBA & boards
block 19% · city 5%

How fast it's moving

1 year
+26%
value · tax +$170
5 years
+335%
value · tax +$642
10 years
+335%
value · tax +$680

Assessed-value change for the typical home. Philadelphia taxes a flat 1.3998% of value, so the bill moves with it.

The makeup of the block

Every home, plotted by size and assessed value — press play and watch the block reprice from 2016 to 2027. One bubble per house (area = lot size), colored by who owns it; a gold ring marks tax-abated new construction. Click a bubble for its report.

2027
  • Owner-occupied
  • Investor / LLC
  • Absentee
  • Vacant
  • Tax-abated
  • Bubble = lot size
  • → bigger interior  ·  ↑ higher value

Assessed values from the city's year-by-year assessment record — a proxy for price, lumpy in reassessment years.

How the block compares

The typical home here is $60K — about 0.3× the citywide median, and below the ZIP 19104 median of $211K. The same block, read against everyone else in the ZIP 19104 and across Philadelphia.

This blockZIP 19104Philadelphia
Median home value$60K$211K$223K
Owner-occupied4%18%41%

Safety & quality of life

Within 200 metres of the block over the last 12 months: 144 reported crimes (57 violent) and 163 resident 311 requests to the city.

Crimes · 12mo
144
57 violent · within 200m
311 requests · 12mo
163
42 still open

Most reported crimes

Other Assaults35
Thefts21
Vandalism/Criminal Mischief21
Aggravated Assault No Firearm13
Motor Vehicle Theft13
All Other Offenses11

Top 311 complaints

Maintenance Complaint44
Rubbish/Recyclable Material Collection42
Illegal Dumping16
Sanitation Violation11
Abandoned Vehicle9
Digital Navigator Request5

Philadelphia Police incident reports and 311 service requests within 200m, trailing 12 months. Reported location, not necessarily where an incident occurred.

Schools

The public schools this block is zoned for — its official School District of Philadelphia catchments.

Elementary & Middle · K-8
Rudolph Blankenburg
4600 W Girard Ave · 228 students
High · 9-12
Overbrook High
5898 Lancaster Ave · 466 students

Catchment assignments from the School District of Philadelphia via City of Philadelphia open data. Confirm with the District before enrollment decisions.

What it's worth, and where taxes are going

Median assessed value · 2016–2027

$0$250K$500K$60K2016: $8K2017: $14K2018: $14K2019: $14K2020: $14K2021: $14K2022: $14K2023: $26K2024: $26K2025: $47K2026: $47K2027: $60K2016202020232027

▲ +695% since 2016

Estimated property tax · per home, per year

$0$500$1,000$8342016: $1052017: $1542018: $1922019: $1922020: $1922021: $1922022: $1922023: $3682024: $3682025: $6642026: $6642027: $8342016202020232027

▲ +694% since 2016 · ~+21%/yr

2
2 properties on this block carry a tax abatement or major exemption. New construction and gut rehabs get the improvement value exempted for up to 10 years, so their tax bills sit far below their real value — block-wide, exemptions keep about $20,289 a year off the tax roll. Read the tax figures with that in mind.

Who really pays — effective tax rate, one dot per home

1.40% — the statutory rate0%0.4%0.8%1.2%
$3,931pays now $10,415at the full rate

1717 N 42nd St is assessed at $744K but pays $3,931 a year — about 38% of the $10,415 it would owe at the statutory rate, because its new-construction value is abated.

The block as an asset

Read like a financial asset, this block has beaten the Philadelphia market, compounding +20.7% a year against the city's 6.5%.

Indexed performance · this block vs. the Philadelphia market

95100100020162019202220252027This block 795 Philadelphia 201

Rebased to 100 in 2016, like a stock against its index. $100 in the typical home here would be worth $795 today versus $201 across Philadelphia — this block outpaced the market.

Annualized return
+20.7%/yr
price, since 2016
Total appreciation
+695%
since 2016
Net rental yield
est., after tax carry
Total return
+20.7%/yr
price + net rent
Real return
+17.7%/yr
after ~3% inflation
vs. Philadelphia
+14.2 pts
market 6.5%/yr

Return is from assessed-value history (a proxy for market price, lumpy in reassessment years); rental yield is estimated from ACS area rents. Informational only, not investment advice.

How often it changes hands

This block has recorded 19 arm's-length sales since 2003. The typical home has sold 0 times in that window, while 16 have not changed hands at all.

Every recorded sale · price & date

$0$250K$500K20042008201220162020
19arm's-length sales since 2003
0times the typical home has sold
4most sales for a single property
16homes never sold in the window

Who owns it

Ownership of 26 parcels

Owner-occupied: 3Investor / LLC: 2Absentee individual: 4Vacant: 17 26parcels
  • Owner-occupied 3
  • Investor / LLC 2
  • Absentee individual 4
  • Vacant 17

Value distribution today

17 parcels0 parcels0 parcels1 parcels0 parcels3 parcels5 parcels
$46K$449K+
OwnerOn blockOwns citywidePortfolio valueSource
City Of Phila (individual)53871$6561Mphila.gov ↗
Philadelphia Land Bank (individual)32498$133Mphila.gov ↗
Oda Llc432$4.9Mphila.gov ↗
3936 Haverford Llc16$464Kphila.gov ↗
Nel Estates Llc13$773Kphila.gov ↗
Wen B Zeng (individual)22$897Kphila.gov ↗
1704 N42 Llc11$48Kphila.gov ↗
1704 N 42 Llc11$51Kphila.gov ↗
1713 N 42nd St Llc11$60Kphila.gov ↗
1715 N 42nd St Llc11$737Kphila.gov ↗
1717 N 42nd St Llc11$744Kphila.gov ↗

House by house

All 26 homes on the block — value and 12-year trajectory, ownership, and the paper trail on the ones that were bought, built, torn down, or flipped. Sorted up the street; each links to its full city record — or download the roster (CSV).

Every house's assessed value, 2016–2027 — each line is one home

$0$500K$1.0M201620182020202220242026Block median
Each houseNew build / flipBlock median

Worth a look

AddressOwnershipValue & trendBd/BaSq ftBuiltSalesFlags
1700 N 42ND ST L&I violation (2014). Vacant $60K —/— 0
1701 N 42ND ST Bought for $75K in 2022. Vacant $64K —/— 2 tax lien
1702 N 42ND ST 2 L&I violations (2008); 2 L&I violations (2010); L&I violation (2023). Vacant $48K —/— 0 tax lien
1703 N 42ND ST Vacant $55K —/— 0
1704 N 42ND ST 2 L&I violations (2010); L&I violation (2011); L&I violation (2014); L&I violation (2023). Vacant $51K —/— 0 tax lien
1705 N 42ND ST Traded 2×: $75K in 2022 → $26K in 2023 (-65%). Vacant $60K —/— 2 tax lien
1706 N 42ND ST Vacant $51K —/— 0
1707 N 42ND ST Owner pulled a plumbing permit in 2019. Vacant $60K —/— 0 tax lien
1708 N 42ND ST Vacant $51K —/— 0
1709 N 42ND ST 2 L&I violations (2019); L&I violation (2020); 2 L&I violations (2021); 2 L&I violations (2023). Vacant $60K —/— 0 tax lien
1710 N 42ND ST Vacant $51K —/— 0
1711 N 42ND ST L&I violation (2020); 2 L&I violations (2021). Vacant $60K —/— 0
1712 N 42ND ST Vacant $51K —/— 0
1713 N 42ND ST Bought for $15K in 2018, built new under a 2023 permit, sold for $90K in 2021. Vacant $60K —/— 2 tax lien
1714 N 42ND ST Bought for $18K in 2006. Vacant $46K —/— 1 tax lien
1715 N 42ND ST built new under a 2022 permit (tax-abated). Investor / LLC $737K —/— 4,475 2023 2 rentedabated5 viol
1716 N 42ND ST Vacant $48K —/— 0
1717 N 42ND ST built new under a 2021 permit (tax-abated). Investor / LLC $744K —/— 4,900 2023 1 rentedabated3 viol
1718 N 42ND ST Owner pulled a alteration permit in 2013. Absentee individual $448K —/— 4,560 1915 0 tax lien
1719 N 42ND ST built new under a 2022 permit, sold for $124K in 2022. Vacant $68K —/— 1 2 viol
1721 N 42ND ST Owner pulled a roof covering replacement permit in 2020. Owner-occupied $254K —/— 4,095 1915 0
1723 N 42ND ST L&I: VACANT PROP UNSAFE (2009). Owner-occupied $363K —/— 3,390 1915 0
1725 N 42ND ST Bought for $60K in 2011. Owner pulled a mechanical permit in 2012. Absentee individual $363K —/— 3,384 1915 1 5 viol
1727 N 42ND ST Bought for $2K in 2003, alteration permit in 2007, sold for $375K in 2021 (+24900%). Absentee individual $448K 8/3 3,384 1915 4 rented
1729 N 42ND ST Bought for $320K in 2020. Owner pulled a electrical permit in 2008. Owner-occupied $449K —/— 3,384 1915 3 rented6 viol
1731 N 42ND ST 4 L&I violations (2012); 5 L&I violations incl EXTERIOR STRUCT UNSAFE COND 5 (2020); 4 L&I violations (2025). Absentee individual $360K —/— 3,348 1915 0 5 viol

Neighborhood

Neighborhood income and demographics are coming soon.

Generated 2026-07-09 from public City of Philadelphia records  ·  Download this block's data (CSV)

Where this comes from

City datasets are fetched live from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com) and cached briefly. AI-written passages are generated from these records only and rejected if they state a number the record doesn't hold.