Philadelphia property values jump in new assessment

Philadelphia's property values spiked for many residential homeowners in the first reassessment after last year's hiatus .

Why it matters: Bigger bills are coming for some property owners despite the city's property tax rate staying flat in Mayor Cherelle Parker's first budget .

State of play: Average residential property values are up 19%, and the typical homeowner is expected to pay $330 more a year in taxes, Parker administration officials revealed Monday.

• Meanwhile, valuations for office buildings slumped 6%, a worrying signal for a market struggling to adjust to post-pandemic remote and hybrid work .
• Overall, citywide assessed property values rose approximately 11.6%, the city's chief assessment officer James Aros, Jr. said during a news conference.

What they're saying: "Our residential real estate market is strong: That's a good indicator of Philadelphia's desirability but, then again, it means taxes will go up," the city's finance director Rob Dubow said.

Zoom in: The Parker administration will begin mailing new property assessments and posting them online on Wednesday.

• Property taxes are due by March 31, 2025.

The fine print: The deadline for property owners to challenge their new assessments is Oct. 7.

The intrigue: The new assessments for the city's 580,000 properties are months behind schedule.

• Property owners typically receive their new tax bills around May or at least before the city budget is passed at the end of June.

Between the lines: Philly has struggled in recent years to conduct reassessments annually.

• That's led to big spikes in revaluations for property owners amid rapidly rising real estate prices .

Flashback: The Office of Property Assessment (OPA) skipped new assessments in 2023 as the office slogged through a sharp rise in appeals from the previous year.

• OPA has been plagued with faulty and inaccurate property assessments in recent years, leading to investigations and reforms .

Zoom in: City lawmakers increased the Homestead Exemption for residential property owners to $100,000 , up from $80,000, this year.

• That program could shave off up to about $1,400 off property tax bills for eligible homeowners.

What's next: There's no guarantee the Parker administration will conduct new assessments next year.

• "The goal is regular reassessments," Dubow said. "We just got this year's out so it's going to take us a little while to think about next year."