Philly's new property tax reassessments jump by roughly 20%

Philadelphia released new property tax reassessments after a two-year hiatus Tuesday, showing citywide values skyrocketing by 21% on average.

Yes, but: Residential property owners could soon face an even bigger tax bill.

• The aggregate value of residential properties has shot up approximately by 31% since tax year 2020, according to Mayor Jim Kenney's administration.

Driving the news: More than 580,000 properties in the city will have new property tax assessments for tax year 2023, which are due next March.

• Property owners can expect to get written notices of their new values by Sept. 1. But the new values are also expected to be uploaded to the city's property search website by Monday, according to the Kenney administration.

The big picture: Philly's current housing market — with low inventory and surging prices — has drastically changed from pre-pandemic times, when the last property tax assessments took place.

• The average home sales price in Philadelphia went from more than $267,000 in 2019 to nearly $311,000 as of January, according to the multiple listing service Bright MLS.

Flashback: The city skipped reassessing property tax values for fiscal year 2021 and 2022 over concerns about the accuracy of how it valued property and pandemic-related issues.

• The new assessments are the first to use the city’s long-delayed Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal system, which was announced in 2013 and takes into account several factors for determining a property’s value.

By the numbers: The new assessments are projected to increase city revenues by $92 million in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.

• Commercial properties will rise by 9% in the new assessments, compared to tax year 2020.

What they're saying: The new assessments are intended to "more accurately reflect sales and market forces," said James Aros Jr., chief assessment officer for the Office of Property Assessment, in a released statement.

What's next: Mayor Jim Kenney and City Council are hashing out their own relief efforts for homeowners and renters in the ongoing budget negotiations.

• A budget is due by July 1.