The Block Report

House report

318 E Somerset St

3 bd · 1 ba · 2 stories · 1,066 sqft · RSA5 · built 1935

Owner-occupied · assessed $85K. On the 300 block of E Somerset St.

Street view of 318 E Somerset St
From the street — imagery © Google
From above — imagery © Esri, Maxar

Property summary

Assessment$85KCity assessed value Last sale$20KRecorded 1994 Est. annual tax$0/yearAssessment × 1.3998% Tax delinquencyNo 2022 matchNot proof account is current Permits—Record unavailable Violations2Open L&I cases

What stands out

From the public record

What 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

The tax bill is temporary

Today's $0/yr reflects a 10-year abatement. It jumps to about $1,194/yr in 2029 — $1,194/yr more. Price the full bill, not the current one.

Built 1935: 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

When the abatement ends, file for Homestead

An abated home cannot also take the Homestead Exemption. From 2029 it can — knocking about $1,400/yr off the full bill.

2 open violations: the clock matters

L&I appeals must be filed within 30 days — just 6 days if a property is designated UNSAFE or IMMINENTLY DANGEROUS. Left unresolved, the city can do the work itself, bill the owner (routinely $50,000+ on a rowhouse), lien the property, and add court fines of $300+/day.

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
$85K
built 1935
Price / sq ft
$80
block $80 · in line w/ block
Appreciation
+110%
+7%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$86K
+7%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
—
Jun 2022 tax snapshot
No match
not proof the account is current
Gross yield
—
Times sold
0

Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line

$0$50K$100K$85K201620222027
This houseBlock median & range

Flags: tax-abated — the bill lags real value · 2 open L&I violations. Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).

The abatement clock

This house pays about $0/yr under a 10-year tax abatement. In 2029 the bill reaches its full ~$1,194/yr — a step up of $1,194/yr, 2 assessment years out. Drag the slider.

2016: ~$150/yr2017: ~$150/yr2018: ~$150/yr2019: ~$0/yr2020: ~$0/yr2021: ~$0/yr2022: ~$0/yr2023: ~$0/yr2024: ~$0/yr2025: ~$0/yr2026: ~$0/yr2027: ~$0/yr2028: ~$0/yr (projected)2029: ~$1,194/yr (projected)2030: ~$1,194/yr (projected)201620292030
2027~$0/yrfrom the record

now: ($85,300 assessed − $85,300 abated) × 1.3998% ≈ $0/yr 2029: $85,300 assessed × 1.3998% ≈ $1,194/yr Flat 100% exemption (pre-2022 program, started 2019), then the cliff — reassessments move both lines. After expiry an owner-occupant can claim the Homestead Exemption (~$1,400/yr off); an abated home can't hold both.

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
1,066 sqft
livable area
Lot
1,050 sqft
Heat
Undetermined
city code H
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Interior condition
Average
city code 4
Quality grade
C
assessor's grade
Zoning
RSA5
city zoning code

OPA field-assessment attributes. Condition and grade are the assessor's codes, not an inspection.

Run the numbers

What owning 318 E Somerset 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.

$85K
20%
6.875%
$700/mo

When this house last sold (1994) a 30-year mortgage ran about 8.38% — 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 (with the abatement toggle above).

Block context

318 E Somerset St sits on the 300 block of E Somerset St. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.

See the whole block →

Next door: 316 E Somerset St  ·  320 E Somerset St

Where this comes from

Methodology & freshness

Available City datasets are queried from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com), then reports are cached and refreshed on a rolling schedule. Source dates vary: the parcel-level tax-delinquency snapshot is June 2022 and the separate detailed tax ledger ends in 2016, so neither establishes today’s balance. Other dossiers re-pull on view once stale, 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.

Official city record ↗  ·  L&I history ↗  ·  See the whole block  ·  Download this record (JSON)