Monthly Event

How the Property Tax Abatement Revitalized Philadelphia

When

Thursday, March 27, 2025

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Where

On Zoom

What

Once a struggling post-industrial city, Philadelphia grappled with decades of economic decline, population loss, and a deteriorating tax base. Yet, against the odds, a bold policy—the 10-year property tax abatement, first applied to commercial-to-residential conversions and later to new residential construction—ignited an urban resurgence.

This presentation examines how this powerful incentive revitalized neighborhoods, attracted new residents, and spurred private investment when other strategies failed. Through compelling data, case studies, and expert insights, we uncover the true impact of the tax abatement and its role in Philadelphia’s dramatic transformation.

Was it a stroke of policy genius or a risky financial gamble? Join us as we explore the lessons from Philadelphia’s comeback story—and why it should serve as a model for struggling cities across the U.S.

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Presenter

Tobias Peter

Tobias Peter is a senior fellow and the codirector of the American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center, where he focuses on housing risk and mortgage markets. Working closely with Edward Pinto, codirector of the AEI Housing Center, Mr. Peter has coauthored a variety of reports on housing policy, specifically on the impact of federal policy on housing demand and homeownership, housing finance risks, and first-time home buyers. He has testified before Congress, and his pieces have been published in policy journals and in the popular press, including in the Wall Street Journal, American Banker, and Business Insider.

He has a master’s in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a bachelor’s degree in history and applied economics from the College of St. Scholastica.

Edward J. Pinto

Edward J. Pinto is a senior fellow and codirector of the AEI Housing Center at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). A focus of his work continues to be the role of federal housing policy in the 2008 mortgage and financial crisis and how federal housing policy continues to create unwelcome distortions in the housing markets. More recently his research has focused on using light touch density to increase the supply of naturally affordable and inclusionary housing.

Along with AEI Resident Scholar Stephen Oliner, Mr. Pinto created the Wealth Building Home Mortgage, a new approach to home finance designed to provide a more reliable and effective way of building wealth than is available under existing policies. This mortgage allows home buyers to maintain a buying power similar to a 30-year loan. It is aimed at a broad range of homebuyers, including low-income, minority, and first-time buyers.

Before joining AEI, Mr. Pinto was an executive vice president and chief credit officer for Fannie Mae until the late 1980s. Today, he is frequently interviewed on radio and television and often testifies before Congress. His writings have been published in trade publications and the popular press, including in the American Banker, The Hill, RealClearPolitics, and The Wall Street Journal. In addition, as the director of the AEI Housing Center, he oversees the monthly publication of the AEI Housing Market Indicators, which has replaced AEI’s monthly Housing Risk Watch and AEI’s FHA Watch.

Mr. Pinto has a JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and a BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.