As property prices have soared across the country over the past two years, property tax reassessments have been slow to catch up. The city of Philadelphia just completed its property reassessments for the first time since the pandemic began. The reassessments are notable for a number of reasons. First, the reassessments represent the city's first use of a new system that is meant to help modernize property valuation in the hopes of creating a more equitable and consistent system. The new approach utilizes a computer assisted mass appraisal (CAMA) system. It is hoped that the CAMA system will reduce some disparities that existed between comparable properties under the antiquated system.

However, at the same time the city is rolling out its new CAMA system, it is confronted with a sharp increase in property values spurred by the pandemic. The results are in: There was an average 21% increase in aggregate value since 2020. Meanwhile residential properties saw an average 31% increase. The increase in property values is estimated to result in the city bringing in additional tax revenue of $92 million during fiscal year 2023. What is good news for the city, may be unwelcomed news to those property owners whose values increased sharply.