Gentrification in Hunting Park

UPenn's Cartographic Modeling Lab reports that the 2005 median sales price was $36,000 for homes in our neighborhood (US census tract #197). Now keep in mind that this number factors in all property sales, including empty lots, plus the fact that refinance "sales" (which count as $1 on BRT records) drive the median down. The first image here shows the trend, and that's what I was really looking for. From $10k in 1999 to $36k in 2005. Percentage-wise, that's a giant leap.

I've had a number of conversations recently about gentrification, rising property taxes, etc. I'm still not sure what I believe about all of that. So far, I've at least reached a fairly solid conclusion in favor of some kind of policy that locks homeowners in at a certain rate when they purchase a home, with incremental annual increases reflecting the rate of inflation. If property taxes rise by percent at the same rate as home values, then those on a fixed income will be up a creek without a paddle.