Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu Publishes More Housing & Commercial Data Online

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ASSESSOR-RECORDER CARMEN CHU
PUBLISHES MORE HOUSING & COMMERCIAL DATA ONLINE
Public information on SF properties is now available on www.sfassessor.org and SF OpenData

SAN FRANCISCO – Building on a commitment to transparency and open data, Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu announced today that her office is making publicly available San Francisco's property information through www.sfassessor.org and OpenData.  The annual datasets contain non-confidential public information such as taxable property values, characteristics and property type from Fiscal Year 2007 through 2015. 

"Information is powerful.  Everywhere we look citizens, consumers, businesses and government are using big data to inform and drive decision-making.  By making our data available to the public, we take a big step forward towards providing access and towards helping people understand how the City is growing and changing," said Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu, who launched the office’s new website in 2015 to improve and expand public access to property information.  "Whether you use the data to create a digital rendering of fictional San Fransokyo as artists did for the hit movie Big Hero 6, or you are interested in mapping out where our residential units are changing most, we are making it easy for our citizens and partners to engage," added Chu.

In addition to direct access through the Office of the Assessor-Recorder's website, the full dataset will be simultaneously published on San Francisco OpenData, the City’s one-stop data site. 

“The Assessor-Recorder’s Office is one of the most data-rich organizations in the City.  We are excited to partner with Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu in order to publish the data together,” said Joy Bonaguro, the City's Chief Data Officer, who has worked with multiple City agencies to consolidate public data on housing, transportation, public safety, health and social services in one place. "We encourage people to visit our site. It is a platform where property information can be viewed, sorted, and visualized in a very easy and friendly way," said Bonaguro.

There are over 207,000 parcels in the City and County of San Francisco. The Office of the Assessor-Recorder is responsible for establishing a taxable value for each of those parcels. Property taxes represents approximately one-third of San Francisco’s General Fund revenues, supporting local services such as public safety, health, social and neighborhood services.  The Office of the Assessor-Recorder also maintains record of public documents, like public marriage licenses, deeds, and liens. 

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