The Block Report

Mixed-use report

5231 Westminster Ave

854 sqft · RM1 · built 1920

Owner-occupied · assessed $47K (2026) · 2027 OPA assessment $58K · sold 3×. On the 5200 block of Westminster Ave.

Property summary

Assessment$46,8002026 OPA assessment · 2027: $58,000 Last sale$15KRecorded 2019 Est. tax bill$655/year2026 taxable assessment × 1.3998% Tax delinquency—Snapshot unavailable Permits4Dated events in report Violations0 openNo historical match in fetched records

“Open” reflects records available then historical records keep their source dates estimates are labeled

BlockReport AI · cited public records

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BlockReport can explain a discrepancy, but it cannot rewrite an official City record. Use the agency that owns the underlying fact:

Street view of 5231 Westminster Ave
From the street — imagery © Google
From above — imagery © Esri, Maxar

The estimate, live balance, and back-tax record are different.

BlockReport can calculate the annual tax from the City’s taxable assessment. Payments, credits, interest, and a current amount due live separately in Philadelphia Tax Center.

Estimated annual Real Estate Tax$655/year

2026 taxable assessment $46,800 × 1.3998%. Estimate—not a bill or account balance.

OPA also publishes a 2027 assessment of $58,000; it is not the 2026 billed-year value.

Official current account balanceCheck live

A Tax Center balance is net of bills, payments, credits, interest, and adjustments. A credit—or an amount due—is not automatically “back taxes.”

OPA 871569330
Open Philadelphia Tax Center →Choose “View period balance” to see the tax year and any credit, interest, or delinquency.
Exemption classificationNo exemption shown

2026 taxable assessment equals the full assessed value.

Historical delinquency sources Record found

The June 2022 delinquency snapshot was not verifiably available in this cached report. No conclusion about a match—or today’s balance—can be drawn from that absence.

A separate historical parcel ledger ending in 2016 records a balance and a lien entry. It is shown as historical context only.

For a purchase, refinance, or closing, request the City’s official Property Payoff statement in Tax Center under “More options.”

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

Built 1920: 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.

If you own it

$1,399/yr may be unclaimed

This home reads owner-occupied but shows no Homestead Exemption, which removes $100,000 from the taxable assessment (worth up to $1,399/yr). Applying through the City is free and takes minutes.

Derived from the fetched property records and linked City guidance as of 2026. Assessment treatment is not a substitute for an exemption approval, live balance, title report, license, occupancy certificate, or inspection. Informational only — not legal, tax, or investment advice.

The investment read

How this building 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
$46,800
2026 billed-year assessment · 2027: $58,000 · built 1920
Price / sq ft
$68
block $83 · below block
Appreciation
+7%
+1%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$58K
+1%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax bill / yr
$655
1.13% effective
Jun 2022 tax snapshot
—
Gross yield
15.4%
≈$744/mo rent
Times sold
3

Assessment vs. the block · every dated City record marked on the line

$0$100K$200K2016 OPA assessment: $54K2017 OPA assessment: $54K2018 OPA assessment: $37K2019 OPA assessment: $39K2020 OPA assessment: $39K2021 OPA assessment: $39K2022 OPA assessment: $39K2023 OPA assessment: $47K2024 OPA assessment: $47K2025 OPA assessment: $47K2026 OPA assessment: $47K2027 OPA assessment: $58K2011 — Deed / sale $15K2019 — Deed / sale $15K2022 — 2022-02-02: ZBA Permit Denial - Variance$58K2011201420172020202320262027
This propertyBlock median & rangeDeed / saleAppeal
2022-02-02: ZBA Permit Denial - Variance
Highlight
Every dated record3 events · scroll to browse
  1. AppealZBA Permit Denial - Variance
  2. Deed / saleDeed / sale $15K
  3. Deed / saleDeed / sale $15K

The paper trail

Improved

Bought for $15K in 2011. Owner pulled a alterations permit in 2024.

  1. 2007 L&I violationL&I
  2. 2008 Inspection failedL&I visit
  3. 2011 $15KSold
  4. 2018 8 L&I violationsL&IInspection failed ×4L&I visit
  5. 2019 $15KSold
  6. 2022 Signs (Accessory / Non-Accessory)PermitAppeal granted with conditionsZoning
  7. 2024 Interior Non-Load-Bearing Wall Demo.PermitAddition and/or AlterationPermitAlterationsPermit
  8. 2025 Inspection passedL&I visit

Browse the source ledger

The chart above is the primary timeline. This drawer preserves every underlying dated row and its filed status for source-level review.

Open the City record ↗
Browse 3 dated records deeds, permits, inspections, licenses, violations, certifications & appeals
  1. AppealZBA Permit Denial - Variance

    Appeal ZP-2021-008372 · Completed · Granted with conditions

    PERMIT FOR THE ERECTION OF A STATICALLY ILLUMINATED PROJECTING SIGN ACCESSORY TO THE PROPOSED USE, CHILD CARE CENTER. SIZE AND LOCATION AS SHOWN ON APPLICATION/PLAN. NO CHANGES MADE TO HEIGHT OR AREA OF STRUCTURE.

  2. Recorded transfer$15K transfer

    2019

  3. Recorded transfer$15K transfer

    2011

What this record suggests

The dated deed and City-record sequence is assembled below. Read timing as a research lead, not proof of renovation, condition, or motive.

Flags: historical tax ledger through 2016 with a lien entry · 1 zoning/board appeal on record. Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).

The property, on paper

The city assessor's field record — the physical spec sheet behind the assessed number.

Interior
854 sqft
livable area
Lot
545 sqft
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Interior condition
Average
city code 4
Quality grade
C
assessor's grade
Zoning
RM1
city zoning code
Zoning appeals
1
Completed · Granted with conditions · 2022

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

Run the numbers

What owning 5231 Westminster Ave takes, at your price and your rate. Taxes start with an annual estimate from the City’s taxable assessment, not a current bill or balance; rent starts at the area median. Assessed value is not an asking price — set the price slider to the real one.

$58K
20%
6.875%
$750/mo

When this house last sold (2019) a 30-year mortgage ran about 3.94% — 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 use this parcel's taxable assessment, not a live Tax Center balance.

Block context

5231 Westminster Ave sits on the 5200 block of Westminster Ave. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.

See the whole block →

Next door: 5229 Westminster Ave  ·  5227 Westminster Ave

Where this comes from
Methodology & freshness

This report was assembled Jul 10, 2026, 3:09 AM ET. Available City datasets are queried from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com) and the cited City ArcGIS feeds; record queries paginate rather than silently taking a first page. “Unavailable” means the source query failed or was not supplied, not “no record.” Reports re-pull on view after seven days and on an overnight rolling schedule; citywide benchmarks recompute weekly. Source dates still govern: the parcel-level tax-delinquency snapshot is June 2022 and the separate detailed tax ledger ends in 2016, so neither establishes today’s balance. The live balance and date-effective payoff must be verified in Tax Center. AI-written passages are grounded in the assembled record and rejected if they state a number the record does not hold.

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