Who owns your block
500 block of W Berks St
A mixed-ownership block: 22% owner-occupied, 33% investor-held, with 1 home behind $95 on taxes.
The typical home here is up 1822% since 2016, now about $137K. Property taxes are climbing about 27% a year and the increases are speeding up.
- Owner-occupied
- Investor / LLC
- Absentee
- Vacant
- Has violations
By the Numbers
How fast it's moving
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.
- 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 $137K — about 0.6× the citywide median, and below the ZIP 19122 median of $278K. The same block, read against everyone else in the ZIP 19122 and across Philadelphia.
| This block | ZIP 19122 | Philadelphia | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value | $137K | $278K | $223K |
| Owner-occupied | 0% | 21% | 41% |
Safety & quality of life
Within 200 metres of the block over the last 12 months: 113 reported crimes (33 violent) and 163 resident 311 requests to the city.
Most reported crimes
Top 311 complaints
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.
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
- $137K typical home, up +1822% since 2016
- Tax bill $72 to $1,006 a year, +27%/yr and compounding
- Whole block: $4.8M assessed, $35,095/yr to the city, about $1,950 per home
Median assessed value · 2016–2027
▲ +1822% since 2016
Estimated property tax · per home, per year
▲ +1297% since 2016 · ~+27%/yr
Who really pays — effective tax rate, one dot per home
522 W Berks St is assessed at $856K but pays $2,396 a year — about 20% of the $11,979 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 +30.8% a year against the city's 6.5%.
Indexed performance · this block vs. the Philadelphia market
Rebased to 100 in 2016, like a stock against its index. $100 in the typical home here would be worth $1922 today versus $201 across Philadelphia — this block outpaced the market.
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 2000. The typical home has sold 1 time in that window, while 7 have not changed hands at all.
Every recorded sale · price & date
Who owns it
Ownership of 18 parcels
- Owner-occupied 3
- Investor / LLC 1
- Absentee individual 4
- Vacant 10
Value distribution today
| Owner | On block | Owns citywide | Portfolio value | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Housing Auth (individual) | 4 | 4773 | $1418M | phila.gov ↗ |
| Berks Street Investments Llc | 3 | 3 | $214K | phila.gov ↗ |
| Acc Builders Llc | 1 | 2 | $156K | phila.gov ↗ |
| Befirst Investment Llc | 1 | 1 | $638K | phila.gov ↗ |
| 531 W Berks St Rentals Llc | 1 | 1 | $127K | phila.gov ↗ |
House by house
All 18 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
Worth a look
| Address | Ownership | Value & trend | Bd/Ba | Sq ft | Built | Sales | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 514 W BERKS ST New constructionbuilt new under a 2022 permit, sold for $12K in 2000. | Vacant | $72K | —/— | — | — | 1 | |
| 516 W BERKS ST TradedTraded 2×: $12K in 2000 → $375K in 2021 (+2912%). | Vacant | $71K | —/— | — | — | 2 | |
| 518 W BERKS ST TradedTraded 2×: $12K in 2000 → $375K in 2021 (+2912%). | Vacant | $72K | —/— | — | — | 2 | |
| 520 W BERKS ST LandVacant land, last sold for $55K in 2017. | Absentee individual | $612K | 6/— | 3,399 | 2019 | 2 | rented |
| 522 W BERKS ST New constructionBought for $112K in 2020, built new under a 2021 permit (tax-abated), sold for $835K in 2022. | Owner-occupied | $856K | 6/— | 3,750 | 2021 | 2 | rentedabatedtax lien |
| 524 W BERKS ST History2 L&I violations (2021); L&I violation (2025). | Vacant | $85K | —/— | — | — | 0 | |
| 526 W BERKS ST Historysold $27K (2005); L&I violation (2010). | Absentee individual | $298K | —/— | 1,763 | 1920 | 1 | |
| 527 W BERKS ST New constructionbuilt new under a 2021 permit. | Vacant | $147K | —/— | — | — | 0 | |
| 528 W BERKS ST New constructionBought for $144K in 2021, built new under a 2021 permit. | Investor / LLC | $638K | —/— | 2,550 | 2024 | 2 | rented |
| 529 W BERKS ST | Absentee individual | $253K | —/— | 2,310 | 1920 | 1 | |
| 530 W BERKS ST New constructionbuilt new under a 2022 permit, sold for $45K in 2021. | Vacant | $73K | —/— | — | — | 1 | |
| 531 W BERKS ST New constructionBought for $1K in 2018, built new under a 2019 permit, sold for $135K in 2020. | Vacant | $127K | —/— | — | — | 3 | rentedtax lien |
| 533 W BERKS ST | Owner-occupied | $319K | —/— | 1,890 | 1920 | 0 | abated |
| 535 W BERKS ST New constructionbuilt new under a 2011 permit (tax-abated). | Absentee individual | $421K | —/— | 1,890 | 1920 | 0 | abated |
| 537 W BERKS ST New constructionbuilt new under a 2021 permit. | Vacant | $114K | —/— | — | — | 0 | |
| 539 W BERKS ST New constructionBought for $95K in 2020, built new under a 2020 permit (tax-abated), sold for $500K in 2021. | Owner-occupied | $506K | 3/3 | 2,025 | 2021 | 2 | rentedabatedtax lien |
| 541 W BERKS ST | Vacant | $94K | —/— | — | — | 0 | |
| 543 W BERKS ST History2 L&I violations (2017); L&I violation (2023). | Vacant | $87K | —/— | — | — | 0 |
Neighborhood
Neighborhood income and demographics are coming soon.
Generated 2026-07-09 from public City of Philadelphia records · Download this block's data (CSV)