Public Records
Edition
Philadelphia400 block of E Wildey StJuly 8, 2026

House report

438 E Wildey St

3 bd · 2 ba · 2 stories · 2,184 sqft · RSA5 · built 2013

Owner-occupied · assessed $522K · sold 2×. On the 400 block of E Wildey St.

Street view of 438 E Wildey St
From the street — imagery © Google
From above — imagery © Esri, Maxar
The story of this houseAI · written from the public record

This is a builder's one-shot that stuck. The $78K lot and $403K finished house both closed in 2013, the developer flipping the completed home to a buyer who has been here ever since — owner-occupied, homestead exemption, no subsequent sale. The permit record is telling: six permits for construction in 2013, then absolute silence until a single masonry facade replacement in 2023. A decade of nothing, then one targeted fix. That gap reads as a house well-maintained by a long-term owner who addressed deferred maintenance only when necessary, not a rental turnover or a flip on the timeline.

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

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.

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 analyst below to dig into any number.

Assessed value
$522K
built 2013
Price / sq ft
$239
block $263 · below block
Appreciation
+34%
+3%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$523K
+3%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$6K
1.13% effective
Gross yield
Times sold
2

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

$0$500K$1.0MBefore this chart — 2008: 2 L&I violations 2013: Land $78K 2013: Zoning/use 2013: New construction 2013: Electrical 2013: Plumbing 2013: Suppression 2013: Mechanical 2013: Plumbing 2013: Sold $403K2023: Masonry Facade Replacement$522K201620222027
This houseBlock median & rangePermit
The paper trail

Bought for $78K in 2013, built new under a 2013 permit, sold for $403K in 2013.

  1. 2008 2 L&I violationsL&I
  2. 2013 $78KLand buyZoning/usePermitNew constructionPermitElectricalPermitPlumbingPermitSuppressionPermitMechanicalPermitPlumbingPermit$403KSold
  3. 2023 Masonry Facade ReplacementPermit

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
2
Stories
2
Interior
2,184 sqft
livable area
Lot
1,118 sqft
Basement
Full, finished
city code A
Heat
Forced hot air
city code A
Central air
Yes
Exterior condition
Above average
city code 3
Interior condition
Above average
city code 3
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 438 E Wildey 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.

$522K
20%
6.875%
$4K/mo

When this house last sold (2013) a 30-year mortgage ran about 3.98% — 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.

Next door: 436 E Wildey St  ·  434 E Wildey St

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.

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