OPA to Explain Rising Property Assessments
City Council is finally asking the Office of Property Assessment to explain itself, and for Northeast homeowners staring at higher tax bills, the timing is awkward.
The Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and the Homeless holds a public hearing today, Monday, November 9, at 10 a.m. in Room 400, City Hall, to examine how the OPA values homes, how appeals work, and what rising assessments mean for residents. The hearing was authorized by Resolution 260101, introduced by 7th District Councilmember Quetcy Lozada and adopted by Council on February 12, nearly nine months ago. Today is the first hearing held under it.
The stakes are plain. The OPA revalued more than 580,000 properties across the city for tax year 2027, using computer assisted mass appraisal, aerial and street level imagery, and market data. Its own ratio study shows 391,701 assessments went up, about 67 percent, while 159,404 went down and 32,415 stayed the same. The city estimates the median valued home will see its real estate tax bill change by about $97 in 2027, though it says actual impacts will vary property by property.
New values take effect January 1, and the Department of Revenue starts mailing 2027 tax bills on December 1. Payment is due March 31, 2027.
Here is the problem Council will have to answer for. Both chances to challenge a new value have already passed. Homeowners had until September 1 to ask the OPA for a First Level Review, and until October 5 to file a formal appeal with the Board of Revision of Taxes. The hearing comes after those doors closed, which means residents who think their number is wrong mostly have to live with it for 2027 and hope relief programs close the gap.
That gap matters most in the Northeast, where longtime homeowners in rowhouses bought decades ago now sit on paper values far above what they paid. A higher assessment does not mean a family has more money, it means a bigger bill on the same paycheck, and for owners on fixed incomes that can be the difference between staying put and falling behind.
The city says the new values are fairer than the old ones. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said the city conducts regular revaluations “to ensure assessments remain fair, accurate, and equitable across Philadelphia.” The OPA hired Keene Mass Appraisal Consulting to independently review the work, and Keene found the 2027 revaluation improved the equity, uniformity, and accuracy of single family home values citywide. The OPA’s own ratio study puts the median home at 99 percent of its time adjusted sale price, inside the range the city targets.
Council will also hear about relief that is still open. The Homestead Exemption cuts $100,000 off the taxable value of an owner occupied home and saves most owners $1,399 a year, with applications due December 1. The Longtime Owner Occupants Program caps the taxable value for owners of at least 10 years whose assessment jumped 50 percent in a year or 75 percent over five years, with income limits, and applications are due September 30, 2027. A senior citizen and low income tax freeze is also open until September 30, 2027, and installment plans and payment agreements can spread the bill out.
“No one should lose their home because they can’t afford their property taxes,” said Kathleen McColgan, Commissioner of the Department of Revenue, when the city announced the new values in June.
City Controller Christy Brady is separately auditing the assessment and appeals system, the Philadelphia Tribune reported.
One limit to keep in mind: a hearing resolution does not change taxes by itself. Any change to the tax rate or to relief programs would need separate legislation, so today is about answers and pressure, not a fix.
Note: two news roundups list the hearing at 1 p.m., but the official public hearing notice, the Legistar meeting page, and Councilmember Lozada’s own announcement all say 10 a.m. Check the city calendar before heading to City Hall.
