Home Prices Are Up 50% as States Try Containing Property Tax

(VitalNews.org) – The value of homes continues to skyrocket as states try to alleviate some of the increased property tax.

Rising value can be good news for homeowners, however, the problem that comes with taxes. Many homeowners are happy about a rise in value, but they have been dealing with an increase in real estate taxes as well.

Beverly McAdam, a retiree who owns a two-bedroom home in Denver, has seen an increase of forty-five percent in home value. Says McAdam, “To pay the higher property taxes it just means we’ve got to take more money out of our investments when it comes time to hit those big bills.”

Beverly is supportive of a Colorado ballot proposal that would cap the growth of property tax revenue on homes. This would help states limit, cut, or offset these escalating property taxes that many have been experiencing.

The higher tax bills have become an issue as the government doesn’t offset the real estate value increases by reducing the tax rates. Commercial property values are seeing a shift; they are declining due to a lack of usability as people continue to work from home.

“With assessed values skyrocketing over the past few years homeowners are clamoring for relief, and state policymakers are increasingly exploring ways to provide it,” said Vice President of State Projects at the nonprofit Tax Foundation, Jared Walczak.

Lanell Griffith is another homeowner who has seen a huge increase in their property taxes. Last year they paid a bit over two thousand five hundred dollars, but this year they are paying over thirty-five hundred dollars. Said Griffith, “The government shouldn’t be able to arbitrarily just increase what they say you owe them without any sort of guardrails on that.”