Public Records
Edition
PhiladelphiaBuilt on public City of Philadelphia recordsJuly 8, 2026

Who owns your block

1900 block of Sterling St

A mostly owner-occupied block: 92% of homes are lived in by their owners, with 4 open code violations and 3 homes behind $3,321 on taxes.

The typical home here is up 76% since 2016, now about $203K. Property taxes are climbing about 2% a year and the increases are speeding up.

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
$203K
$201K–$249K
ZIP median $187K
Price / sq ft
$151
typical home
city median $177
Vs. Philadelphia
0.9×
the city median
city $223K
Recent sale
$209K
1 sold in 2yr
assessed $203K
Tax / yr
$1K
typical · up to $3K
city ≈$3K/yr
Tax abatements
1 of 38
$45K/yr forgone
Owner-occupied
92%
35 of 38
city 41%
Rentals
0%
0 licensed
city 15% of homes
Open violations
4
L&I code
▲ block 11% · city 5%
Back taxes
$3K
3 of 38 behind
▼ block 8% · city 9%

How fast it's moving

1 year
+1%
value · tax +$20
5 years
+58%
value · tax +$276
10 years
+76%
value · tax +$247

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 $203K — about 0.9× the citywide median, and above the ZIP 19138 median of $187K. The same block, read against everyone else in the ZIP 19138 and across Philadelphia.

This blockZIP 19138Philadelphia
Median home value$203K$187K$223K
Owner-occupied82%53%41%

Safety & quality of life

Within 200 metres of the block over the last 12 months: 62 reported crimes (19 violent) and 252 resident 311 requests to the city.

Crimes · 12mo
62
19 violent · within 200m
311 requests · 12mo
252
31 still open

Most reported crimes

Other Assaults14
Motor Vehicle Theft10
Vandalism/Criminal Mischief9
Fraud8
Thefts7
All Other Offenses4

Top 311 complaints

Rubbish/Recyclable Material Collection104
Abandoned Vehicle30
Maintenance Complaint22
Illegal Dumping14
Salting13
Other (Streets)11

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 · K-5
William Rowen
6841 N 19th St · 272 students
Middle · 6-8
General Louis Wagner
1701 Chelten Ave · 294 students
High · 9-12
Martin Luther King
6100 Stenton Ave · 604 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$125K$250K$203K2016: $115K2017: $115K2018: $115K2019: $134K2020: $129K2021: $129K2022: $129K2023: $172K2024: $172K2025: $202K2026: $202K2027: $203K2016202020232027

▲ +76% since 2016

Estimated property tax · per home, per year

$0$1,000$2,000$1,4462016: $1,1992017: $1,1992018: $1,1992019: $1,3192020: $1,1702021: $1,1702022: $1,1702023: $1,2912024: $1,2912025: $1,4262026: $1,4262027: $1,4462016202020232027

▲ +21% since 2016 · ~+2%/yr

1
1 property 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 $44,844 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%
$0pays now $2,850at the full rate

1961 Sterling St is assessed at $204K but pays $0 a year — about 0% of the $2,850 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 lagged the Philadelphia market, compounding +5.3% a year against the city's 6.5%.

Indexed performance · this block vs. the Philadelphia market

9510025020162019202220252027This block 176 Philadelphia 201

Rebased to 100 in 2016, like a stock against its index. $100 in the typical home here would be worth $176 today versus $201 across Philadelphia — this block trailed the market.

Annualized return
+5.3%/yr
price, since 2016
Total appreciation
+76%
since 2016
Net rental yield
est., after tax carry
Total return
+5.3%/yr
price + net rent
Real return
+2.3%/yr
after ~3% inflation
vs. Philadelphia
-1.2 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 25 arm's-length sales since 2000. The typical home has sold 0 times in that window, while 23 have not changed hands at all.

Every recorded sale · price & date

$0$250K$500K200020052010201520202025
25arm's-length sales since 2000
0times the typical home has sold
3most sales for a single property
23homes never sold in the window

Who owns it

Ownership of 38 parcels

Owner-occupied: 35Absentee individual: 3 38parcels
  • Owner-occupied 35
  • Absentee individual 3

Value distribution today

33 parcels0 parcels1 parcels1 parcels0 parcels0 parcels3 parcels
$201K$225K+

No multi-home or corporate owners on this block — every home has its own owner.

House by house

All 38 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$250K$500K201620182020202220242026Block median
Each houseNew build / flipBlock median

Worth a look

AddressOwnershipValue & trendBd/BaSq ftBuiltSalesFlags
1950 STERLING ST Traded 3×: $23K in 2001 → $80K in 2005 (+248%). Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,332 1930 3
1951 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $213K 3/1 1,332 1930 1
1952 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,374 1930 1
1953 STERLING ST Traded 2×: $68K in 2002 → $230K in 2023 (+239%). Owner-occupied $204K 3/1 1,344 1930 2
1954 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $202K 3/1 1,356 1930 0
1955 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $249K 3/1 1,332 1930 1
1956 STERLING ST Traded 2×: $63K in 2000 → $100K in 2007 (+59%). Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,374 1930 2
1957 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $204K 3/1 1,350 1930 0
1958 STERLING ST Traded 3×: $60K in 2012 → $209K in 2025 (+248%). Owner-occupied $248K 3/1 1,362 1930 3
1959 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $202K 3/1 1,320 1930 0
1960 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,368 1930 0
1961 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $204K 3/1 1,344 1930 0 abated
1962 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $202K 3/1 1,356 1930 0
1963 STERLING ST Absentee individual $202K 3/1 1,326 1930 0 1 viol
1964 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,374 1930 0
1965 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $204K 3/1 1,344 1930 1
1966 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $201K 3/1 1,350 1930 1
1967 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,332 1930 0
1968 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,374 1930 0
1969 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/2 1,338 1930 1
1970 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $201K 3/1 1,350 1930 1
1971 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $202K 3/1 1,326 1930 0 tax lien
1972 STERLING ST Traded 3×: $64K in 2000 → $85K in 2019 (+32%). Absentee individual $203K 3/1 1,374 1930 3
1973 STERLING ST Traded 2×: $46K in 2014 → $140K in 2016 (+204%). Owner-occupied $204K 3/1 1,344 1930 2
1974 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $202K 3/1 1,356 1930 0 tax lien
1975 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $202K 3/1 1,326 1930 0
1976 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,368 1930 0
1977 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,338 1935 0
1978 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $202K 3/1 1,356 1930 0 1 viol
1979 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,332 1930 0
1980 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,374 1930 0 1 viol
1981 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,332 1930 0
1982 STERLING ST Absentee individual $203K 3/1 1,368 1930 0 tax lien
1983 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,332 1930 1
1984 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,368 1930 0
1985 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $203K 3/1 1,338 1930 0
1986 STERLING ST Traded 2×: $219K in 2019 → $290K in 2022 (+32%). Owner-occupied $225K 4/3 1,332 1930 2
1987 STERLING ST Owner-occupied $211K 3/1 1,332 1930 0 1 viol

Neighborhood

Neighborhood income and demographics are coming soon.

Generated 2026-07-08 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.