Public Records
Edition
Philadelphia900 block of Cathedral RdJuly 9, 2026

House report

918 Cathedral Rd

3 bd · 2 ba · 2 stories · 1,536 sqft · RSD3 · built 1959

Absentee individual · assessed $503K · sold 3×. On the 900 block of Cathedral Rd.

Street view of 918 Cathedral Rd
From the street — imagery © Google
From above — imagery © Esri, Maxar
The story of this houseAI · written from the public record

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

Built 1959: 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 RSD3: one household by right

Single-family detached, small lot. 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 last transfer was not a sale

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

No active rental license on file

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.

Assessed value
$503K
built 1959
Price / sq ft
$328
block $280 · above block
Appreciation
+94%
+6%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$505K
+6%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$7K
1.4% effective
Gross yield
Times sold
3
kept in the family

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

$0$500K$1.0MBefore this chart — 2015: Sold $220K2016: Sold $365K2023: Sold $512K$503K201620222027
This houseBlock median & rangeSalePermit
The paper trail

Traded 3×: $220K in 2015 → $512K in 2023 (+133%).

  1. 2015 $220KSold
  2. 2016 $365KSold
  3. 2023 $512KSold

Flags: long-held within one family. 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
1,536 sqft
livable area
Lot
7,809 sqft
Basement
Partial, semi-finished
city code F
Heat
Forced hot air
city code A
Central air
Yes
Garage
1 space
Exterior condition
Above average
city code 3
Interior condition
Above average
city code 3
Quality grade
C+
assessor's grade
Zoning
RSD3
city zoning code

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

Run the numbers

What owning 918 Cathedral Rd 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.

$512K
20%
6.875%
$4K/mo

When this house last sold (2023) a 30-year mortgage ran about 6.81% — 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: 916 Cathedral Rd  ·  920 Cathedral Rd

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)