What can you expect to happen to your property tax bill as home values decline?
Fannie Mae’s latest economic forecast calls for home prices to fall by an average of 6%. More than double their previous estimation.
Of course, many residential and commercial property owners are likely already seeing prices far, far lower than that.
Whether you’ve seen your property value decrease yet, or not, what can you expect the effect to be in your annual property taxes?
Tax Rates Vs. Tax Assessed Values
When sales prices come down, your tax assessed value should follow, and come down in line with that.
Or course, don’t expect the tax assessor to rush to cut you a break. You are going to have to request it. Unless you want to keep overpaying for years.
What many overlook is that your annual property tax bill is actually made up of a combination of your assessed value, and tax rates on a variety of line items.
Often these tax rates are raised just when assessed value goes down, or are ‘frozen’ as values go up. Ultimately, always leading to higher bills.
Reduced Tax Revenues Can Often Lead To Tax Hikes
Another factor often overlooked is that as tax authorities and jurisdictions experience reduced tax revenues, they look for other ways to maintain or increase their income. Especially as spending budgets often increase, regardless of income.
This not only happens due to falling property values, but when many are falling behind on their property taxes, as well as moving out and leaving houses abandoned. In fact, we still seem to be dealing with zombie properties from the last time we were in this phase of the real estate market.
How To Get The Lower Property Taxes You Deserve
While some parts of the country and world seem constantly ahead in reducing property taxes and providing breaks, the Northeast, and especially NY seems dead set on always finding a way to raise them, or avoiding voluntarily handing out the breaks and reductions they should.
Yet, it is your right to appeal and get your property taxes reduced. They just hope that most don’t do it, and keep on overpaying.
We’re here to help you grieve your property taxes, and to minimize how much you have to pay. Especially in times like these.