New construction
Why it mattersBought for $210K in 2008, built new under a 2008 permit, sold for $555K in 2022.
View supporting records →House report
1608 S 12th St
3 bd · 1 ba · 2 stories · 1,248 sqft · RSA5 · built 1925
Owner-occupied · assessed $449K · sold 5×. On the 1600 block of S 12th St.
Property summary
Assessment$449KCity assessed value
Last sale$555KRecorded 2022
Est. taxes$5K/yearAnnual city record
Permits2Shown in this report
ViolationsNone openNo open L&I cases
What stands out
From the public recordWhat to do with this
The record, translated into moves — what a buyer, the owner, and a landlord would each want to check next under Philadelphia's actual rules.
If you’re buying
Built 1925: lead rules apply
Federal law requires a lead-paint disclosure at sale for any pre-1978 home. If it will be rented, Philadelphia also requires a lead-safe or lead-free certificate before a rental license can issue.
Zoned RSA5: one household by right
Single-family rowhouse (the classic Philly row). Converting to a duplex or apartments needs a use variance the zoning board rarely grants — Pennsylvania courts require a physical hardship of the lot itself, and economics alone do not qualify.
If you own it
Construction next door (1607 S 12th St, 2026)
Excavation deeper than 5 feet, or within 10 feet of an adjacent structure, legally requires the developer to survey neighboring homes first and give owners 10 days' written notice. Insist on the pre-construction survey — it is your evidence if cracks appear.
Derived from this house's public records and the city's rules as of 2026 (abatement ordinance, Homestead, rental licensing, lead certification, L&I process, excavation protections). Informational only — not legal, tax, or investment advice.
The investment read
How this house has moved and where it's pointed: the city's assessed value (not a listing price) over 12 years, charted against its block; appreciation is that history's pace, and the 5-year figure simply extends it. Yield estimates rent-vs-price from area rents. Ask the record to dig into any number.
Assessed value
$449K
built 1925
Price / sq ft
$360
block $304 · above block
Appreciation
+48%
+4%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$450K
+4%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$5K
1.09% effective
Gross yield
3.7%
≈$1K/mo rent
Times sold
5
kept in the family
Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line
This houseBlock median & rangeSaleZoningPermitInspection
The paper trail
New constructionBought for $210K in 2008, built new under a 2008 permit, sold for $555K in 2022.
- 2007 2 L&I violationsL&IL&I: 2 failed, 7 passedL&I visit
- 2008 $210KSoldAlterationPermit
- 2010 $300KSold
- 2019 $475KSold
- 2022 $555KSold2 L&I violationsL&IInspection failedL&I visit
- 2024 L&I: 1 failed, 1 passedL&I visit
- 2025 New construction, addition, GFA changePermitAppeal grantedZoning
Flags: 1 zoning/board appeal on record · long-held within one family. Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).
The house, on paper
The city assessor's field record — the physical spec sheet behind the assessed number.
Bedrooms
3
Bathrooms
1
Stories
2
Interior
1,248 sqft
livable area
Lot
920 sqft
Basement
Full, finished
city code A
Heat
Forced hot air
city code A
Central air
Yes
Exterior condition
Above average
city code 3
Above averageBelow average
Interior condition
Above average
city code 3
Above averageBelow average
Quality grade
C+
assessor's grade
ABCDE
Zoning
RSA5
city zoning code
Zoning appeals
1
granted 2025
OPA field-assessment attributes. Condition and grade are the assessor's codes, not an inspection.
Run the numbers
What owning 1608 S 12th St takes, at your price and your rate. Taxes are this house's actual bill from the city record; rent starts at the area median. Assessed value is not an asking price — set the price slider to the real one.
When this house last sold (2022) a 30-year mortgage ran about 5.34% — Freddie Mac's average that year.
Mortgage
—
P&I · 30-yr fixed
All-in monthly
—
+ taxes & insurance
Cash to close
—
down + ~4% costs
Cash flow
—
rent − all costs · /mo
Cap rate
—
NOI ÷ price
Cash-on-cash
—
year-1 return on cash in
Estimates for orientation, not advice. Assumes a 30-year fixed loan, $1,400/yr insurance, 1% of price/yr maintenance; taxes from this parcel's record.
Block context
1608 S 12th St sits on the 1600 block of S 12th St. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.
See the whole block →Next door: 1606 S 12th St · 1610 S 12th St
Where this comes from
- Assessment, spec sheet & owner — OPA Property Assessments, Office of Property Assessment
- Sales & deed history — Realty Transfer Tax records, Recorder of Deeds
- Permits, violations & inspections — L&I Property History · Atlas
- Back taxes & liens — Real Estate Tax Balances, Dept. of Revenue
- Zoning appeals — L&I & Zoning Board appeals
- Neighborhood income & rents — US Census ACS 5-year estimates
- Historical mortgage rates — Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, annual averages
- Imagery — Street photo © Google · Aerial © Esri, Maxar
Methodology & freshness
City datasets are fetched live from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com) and cached briefly. Dossiers re-pull automatically — on view once they're a few weeks old, plus a nightly rolling sweep — and citywide benchmarks recompute weekly. AI-written passages are generated from these records only and rejected if they state a number the record doesn't hold.
First time here?
This is 1608 S 12th St,
on paper.
Built 1925. Every deed, permit, L&I visit, tax bill and sale for this house — plus its whole block.
No signup, no teaser
The whole record is free.
Permits, violations, taxes, deeds, ownership, and block context are all here. The public record is free to read; membership is for deeper research.
Three taps, you're oriented
What to catch on the way down.
On the way down: the story of the house, its paper trail drawn on the value chart, and run-the-numbers, a calculator seeded with this house's actual tax bill.
Official city record ↗ · L&I history ↗ · See the whole block · Download this record (JSON)