As Home Values Increase, Homeowners Face Higher Property Taxes

Yes, rising home values provide greater equity for homeowners, but the flip side is that rising values also often mean higher property taxes. In fact, according to housing market platform Realtor.com, there has been a 54% rise in home values over the past five years. At the same time, in 2022, property tax collections totaled about $760 billion, an increase of 31% since 2018. 

These increases have prompted several states to implement, or consider implementing, measures to cap annual increases in property tax revenues. Voters in the states of Colorado and Georgia will decide on such proposals in November, while Alabama, Wyoming, and Kansas have already passed new laws this year to limit future property tax increases.

Property taxes are complex in part because they are usually assessed and collected at the local level in cities and counties, under rules that vary from state to state. Changing those rules, which are frequently already byzantine, can be a challenge for lawmakers, and has sometimes backfired in the past.

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