New construction
Why it mattersbuilt new under a 2019 permit (tax-abated), sold for $44K in 2001.
View supporting records →House report
938 S 50th St
3 bd · 1 ba · 1 story · 1,352 sqft · RM1 · built 1925
Owner-occupied · assessed $275K · sold 1×. On the 900 block of S 50th St.
Property summary
Assessment$275KCity assessed value
Last sale$44KRecorded 2001
Est. taxes$2K/yearAnnual city record
Permits3Shown in this report
ViolationsNone openNo open L&I cases
What stands out
From the public recordWhat 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 tax bill is temporary
Today's $1,846/yr reflects a 10-year abatement. It steps up every year and reaches about $3,845/yr in 2033 — $1,999/yr more. Price the full bill, not the current one.
Built 1925: 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
When the abatement ends, file for Homestead
An abated home cannot also take the Homestead Exemption. From 2033 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
$275K
built 1925
Price / sq ft
$203
block $219 · below block
Appreciation
+302%
+13%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$277K
+13%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$2K
0.67% effective, abated
Gross yield
5.1%
≈$1K/mo rent
Times sold
1
Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line
This houseBlock median & rangePermit
The paper trail
New constructionbuilt new under a 2019 permit (tax-abated), sold for $44K in 2001.
- 2001 $44KSold
- 2019 AlterationPermitNew ConstructionPermit
- 2023 Addition and/or AlterationPermit
Flags: tax-abated — the bill lags real value. Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).
The abatement clock
This house pays about $1,846/yr under a 10-year tax abatement that steps down every year. In 2033 the bill reaches its full ~$3,845/yr — a step up of $1,999/yr, 6 assessment years out. Drag the slider.
now: ($274,700 assessed − $142,824 abated) × 1.3998% ≈ $1,846/yr
2033: $274,700 assessed × 1.3998% ≈ $3,845/yr
The abated slice shrinks ~10% a year (post-2022 program, started 2023) — 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.
Bedrooms
3
Bathrooms
1
Stories
1
Interior
1,352 sqft
livable area
Lot
934 sqft
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Above averageBelow average
Interior condition
Average
city code 4
Above averageBelow average
Quality grade
C+
assessor's grade
ABCDE
Zoning
RM1
city zoning code
OPA field-assessment attributes. Condition and grade are the assessor's codes, not an inspection.
Run the numbers
What owning 938 S 50th 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 (2001) a 30-year mortgage ran about 6.97% — 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
938 S 50th St sits on the 900 block of S 50th St. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.
See the whole block →Next door: 936 S 50th St · 940 S 50th 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
Methodology & freshness
City datasets are fetched live from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com) and cached briefly. Dossiers re-pull automatically — on view once they're a few weeks old, plus a nightly rolling sweep — 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.
First time here?
This is 938 S 50th St,
on paper.
Built 1925. Every deed, permit, L&I visit, tax bill and sale for this house — plus its whole block.
No signup, no teaser
The whole record is free.
Permits, violations, taxes, deeds, ownership, and block context are all here. The public record is free to read; membership is for deeper research.
Three taps, you're oriented
What to catch on the way down.
On the way down: the story of the house, its paper trail drawn on the value chart, and run-the-numbers, a calculator seeded with this house's actual tax bill.
Official city record ↗ · L&I history ↗ · See the whole block · Download this record (JSON)