The Block Report

House report

548 S Melville St

2 stories · 1,572 sqft · RSA5 · built 1920

Owner-occupied · assessed $497K. On the 500 block of S Melville St.

Property summary

Assessment$497KCity assessed value Last sale$68KRecorded 1998 Est. annual tax$3K/yearAssessment × 1.3998% Tax delinquency—Snapshot unavailable Permits3Shown in this report ViolationsNone openNo open L&I cases
BlockReport AI · cited public records

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Street view of 548 S Melville St
From the street — imagery © Google
From above — imagery © Esri, Maxar

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 current tax estimate is temporary

The taxable assessment implies about $2,524/yr under a 10-year abatement. It jumps to about $6,961/yr by 2026 — $4,437/yr more. Underwrite the post-abatement estimate and verify the actual bill with Revenue.

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.

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 2026 it can — knocking about $1,400/yr off the full bill.

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
$497K
built 1920
Price / sq ft
$316
block $316 · in line w/ block
Appreciation
+39%
+3%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$498K
+3%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$3K
0.51% effective, abated
Jun 2022 tax snapshot
—
Gross yield
2.8%
≈$1K/mo rent
Times sold
0

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

$0$500K$1.0MBefore this chart — 2012: Major alteration 2012: Zoning 2012: Alteration$497K201620222027
This houseBlock median & rangePermit

The paper trail

New construction

built new under a 2012 permit (tax-abated).

  1. 2012 Major alterationPermitZoningPermitAlterationPermit

Flags: tax-abated — the bill lags real value. Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).

The abatement clock

This house’s taxable assessment implies about $2,524/yr under a 10-year tax abatement. By 2026 the assessment-based estimate reaches ~$6,961/yr — a step up of $4,437/yr. Drag the slider.

2016: ~$2,524/yr2017: ~$2,524/yr2018: ~$2,524/yr2019: ~$2,524/yr2020: ~$2,524/yr2021: ~$2,524/yr2022: ~$2,524/yr2023: ~$2,524/yr2024: ~$2,524/yr2025: ~$2,524/yr2026: ~$2,524/yr2027: ~$2,524/yr201620262027
2027~$2,524/yrestimated from assessment

now: ($497,300 assessed − $316,989 abated) × 1.3998% ≈ $2,524/yr 2026: $497,300 assessed × 1.3998% ≈ $6,961/yr Flat 100% exemption (pre-2022 program, started 2016), 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.

Stories
2
Interior
1,572 sqft
livable area
Lot
1,720 sqft
Garage
1 space
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 548 S Melville St 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.

$497K
20%
6.875%
$1K/mo

When this house last sold (1998) a 30-year mortgage ran about 6.94% — 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 from this parcel's record (with the abatement toggle above).

Block context

548 S Melville St sits on the 500 block of S Melville St. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.

See the whole block →

Next door: 546 S Melville St  ·  544 S Melville 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)