Re: Quick question.

[OpenData Philly]

Tim,

I'm not aware of any "live" feeds, but the best, most timely data will be from the Department of Records, where deeds are recorded. Their electronic deed recording system, PhilaDox (iCris), will be anywhere from 15 - 40 days after the actual deed recording. In the past, it has been as little as 5 days, but since the pandemic, they've been running much further behind.

There is no proper API, but data is available in a machine-readable format at https://www.opendataphilly.org/dataset/real-estate-transfers. I'm not sure of the update schedule, but there is some 2021 data in the current file. In addition to the addresses and transfer (sale) amount, it will show the grantor/grantee information. 

The closest to real-time will be the PhilaDox system at https://www.opendataphilly.org/dataset/philadox  Free, public access is provided for index data. Scans of deeds and other actual documents will require a paid subscription.

I'm cc-ing the OpenDataPhilly mailing list as your question may be of general interest.

Regards,

Robert

--------------------

Robert Cheetham

Azavea

OpenDataPhilly is an online catalog that organizes to more than 350 data sets, applications, and APIs related to the Philadelphia region. It is a collaboration between the City of Philadelphia, Azavea, and members of the Philadelphia civic technology community. Visit us at http://www.opendataphilly.org and begin transforming your city. 

Ask questions: OpenDataPhilly mailing list.

Twitter: @opendataphilly. 

On Fri, May 14, 2021 at 3:29 PM Tim Breslin <t...@tastyapps.com> wrote:

Hello… I wanted to build a little application for my neighborhood.

Essentially, I want to alert a small group of preservationists & environmentalists here in my neighborhood (Chestnut Hill) when a property is sold or transferred to a real estate developer.

I can easily acquire the list of the usual offenders for cross referencing (developers that seek at all costs to demolish historic buildings, cut down legacy trees and subdivide green space in an effort to maximize profit)… but I was hoping that I could access a live feed of property sales and/or transfers. Is this data available through operndataphilly ?

It would need to be somewhat realtime for this to work. I feel like if we know about these deals, there are many wealthy and influential parties that would try to get in front of it. The problem now is… they don’t know until it's too late.


Please help.


-Tim

[Robert Cheetham]

Tim,

The MLS data is often more current as it's updated even faster than the deed records. However, the City does not have access to the MLS nor, if it did have access, it's a proprietary database, and the City would likely not be allowed to distribute it as open data.

The deed records are the most up-to-date data the City publishes. The deed records timeliness in electronic form have fluctuated quite a bit over time, largely based on staffing. The current delay of 30+ days is the longest it has been in many years, and my best guess is that it's due to delays caused by remote work; as such, it's possible that it will return to the 5-10 day norm after the work-from-home rules end, but that is only speculation on my part.  The Office of Property Assessment will also eventually update it's data, but that can be up to 90 days after the transaction. 

If you can get electronic access to the MLS, that will probably be a more timely information source today.

Best,

Robert

------------------

On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 2:40 PM Tim Breslin <t...@tastyapps.com> wrote:

Thanks Robert !

I have noticed services like Zillow, Redfin & the MLS, seem to have at least some of the data around property sale, transfer and ownership. I’m wondering if this data is more “real time” than Philadocs?

5 days is probably doable... but I’m guessing the communities ability to react would be severely crippled if I were to update them months after the fact.

Thanks for your help !

-Tim

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 15, 2021, at 8:42 PM, OpenData Philly <in...@opendataphilly.org> wrote:

[Robert Cheetham]

Hi TIm. 

It depends on the data set you are looking at. 

 * The iCris database is currently at June 1, 2023. That's still a few weeks behind "current" but it's a bit better than it was in the middle of the pandemic.

 * The RTT Transfers dataset looks like it is currently at about Feb 3, 2023. 

Regards,

Robert

-- 

Robert Cheetham

Element 84, Inc.

On Fri, Jun 23, 2023 at 12:41 PM t...@tastyapps.com <t...@tastyapps.com> wrote:

Hello Robert!

I’m resurrecting this project.

I’m looking at the dataset in opendataphilly, it appears the most recent information is from February? Could it that out of date?

Best,

Tim.

Sent from my iPhone

On May 15, 2021, at 8:42 PM, OpenData Philly <in...@opendataphilly.org> wrote: