House report
616 Catharine St
3 bd · 4 ba · 3 stories · 2,380 sqft · RSA5 · built 2023
Absentee individual · assessed $1.1M · sold 2×. On the 600 block of Catharine St.
Reading this house's deeds, permits and assessments…
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
Today's $6,360/yr reflects a 10-year abatement. It steps up every year and reaches about $14,905/yr in 2035 — $8,545/yr more. Price the full bill, not the current one.
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.
The most recent recorded deed moved for nominal consideration, within one family. That is where tangled-title problems live — budget a real title search. (Occupants untangling an inherited deed can get help from the city's Tangled Title Fund.)
If you’re the landlord
If this property is rented, Philadelphia requires a Rental License (via eCLIPSE) — without it a landlord cannot legally collect rent or evict, and tenants can withhold. Licensing needs tax clearance and no open violations.
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.
Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line
Bought for $270K in 2022, built new under a 2022 permit (tax-abated), sold for $1.2M in 2024.
- 2022 $270KLand buyLot Line RelocationPermitNew construction, addition, GFA changePermitNew ConstructionPermitNew ConstructionPermit
- 2023 New Construction or AdditionsPermitNew ConstructionPermitNew ConstructionPermit
- 2024 $1.2MSold
Flags: tax-abated — the bill lags real value · long-held within one family. Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).
The abatement clock
This house pays about $6,360/yr under a 10-year tax abatement that steps down every year. In 2035 the bill reaches its full ~$14,905/yr — a step up of $8,545/yr, 8 assessment years out. Drag the slider.
now: ($1,064,800 assessed − $610,449 abated) × 1.3998% ≈ $6,360/yr
2035: $1,064,800 assessed × 1.3998% ≈ $14,905/yr
The abated slice shrinks ~10% a year (post-2022 program, started 2025) — 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.
OPA field-assessment attributes. Condition and grade are the assessor's codes, not an inspection.
Run the numbers
What owning 616 Catharine 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 (2024) a 30-year mortgage ran about 6.72% — Freddie Mac's average that year.
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).
Next door: 614 Catharine St · 618 Catharine 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
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.
First time here?
This is 616 Catharine St,
on paper.
Built 2023. Every deed, permit, L&I visit, tax bill and sale for this house — plus its whole block.
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Who owns what, what they paid, what they built, what they owe. Scroll and it's all here — the paid part is not the data.
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Official city record ↗ · L&I history ↗ · See the whole block · Download this record (JSON)