Homeowners across the nation are looking to county governments to reassess the values of their homes in the face of flattening and falling prices that have befallen scores of markets. Downward assessments, done at the request of homeowners or pre-emptively by government, appear to be most pronounced in areas where the housing market was exploding just a few years ago, or where economic conditions are poorest.
While every state and local government has its own methods for assessing home values for tax purposes - some do it annually, some every five years and everything in between - many counties are hearing from residents that they would like their homes reassessed, or have taken steps to bring the taxes down of their own volition.
No one has aggregated the total number of counties reassessing home values, and many counties take at least a year to catch up to the marketplace. In some places where reassessments are rising, the numbers have yet to approach historical heights.
Cities where home values have fallen the most are the obvious first place to look for residents clamoring for reassessments, but that is not always the case. Some states, like California, Michigan and Nevada, have statutory caps in property tax increases, which mean the market value of single family homes almost always exceeds the assessed tax values, except in a major downturn. (The New York Times)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment