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2008 Oakland County Assessed Property Values Tumble

Updated January 25, 2008

According to Andrew Sawmiller in the January 23, 2008 edition of The Spinal Column weekly for the Lakes Area of western Oakland County "Lakes Area" assessed property values decreased by an average of single digits in 2008. According to the article, "only two communities in Oakland County did not have a decrease in property value...." (Look under Archives January 23, 2008 for the entire article after the week of January 21 - 26, 2008)

The following local communities were highlighted in Andrew's article Residential property values declining across western Oakland County

Commerce and Wolverine Lake property owners will see an average drop of 5.27 percent in their residential property values.
Milford's average residential property assessment values fell by 2.55 percent in the last year.
Orchard Lake homeowners may see an unprecedented decrease in their property's assessed value. Sailer said he expects to see a decrease of about 2 percent on average.
Walled Lake is expected to see an average decrease in residential property assessments of about 7 percent this year, which is one of the largest decreases in Oakland County.
Waterford Average assessed residential property values have decreased 5.84 percent in Waterford Township during the last year.
West Bloomfield Homeowners in West Bloomfield will see an average drop in the property assessment of 4.76 percent.
White Lake property owners are slated to see an average decline of 6.28 in property values.

I encourage you to read Andrew Sawmillers entire article above.

Why your taxes may not decrease!

Although State Equalized Values (SEV) for Oakland County may decrease an average of 5 percent, property taxes for long time homeowners may actually increase due to Proposal "A" . More information is available on 2008 Oakland County Property Taxes and Proposal A in this Oakland County Equalization Department will have all of 2008 assessed values shortly. Look for all information to be available on the Oakland County Equalization website shortly. If you have questions about Oakland County property taxes and equalization please read this 2008 Proposal A Pamphlet . More information is available in this Oakland County Guide to Property Taxes and Proposal A

Typically, property assessments are mailed the middle of February to homeowners. With your notice, will be information about determining State Equalized Values, your assessed values, and your properties Taxable Value. Each homeowner has the opportunity to dispute any property tax increase to their local government in March and to the Michigan State Tax Tribunal later in the year. More information is available from your local government.

NEW JANUARY 25, 2008 Detroit News Interactive Assessment search for Livingston County, Oakland County, Macomb County, and Wayne County. Values will change by school district. Final results will be mailed to property owners. More information about taxes increasing is available in their article Assessments Fall Taxes May Rise

Usually there are long lines at local government offices prior to the dispute period. If you would like to save yourself some time. Legal owners of property in most of southeastern Michigan can email me and request a brief search of recent sales in their subdivision or area. We will need the following information to search online for recent activity:

Your name (must be a legal owner)
Property address
2008 State Equalized Value of your home
2008 Taxable Value of your home
A statement allowing your permission to have a real estate professional review your information and email you recent comparable sales.

You will occasionally receive updates from this website. Unsubscribe at any time.

Search for homes in Oakland County Michigan and surrounding areas on http://www.mi-living.com/

end

Posted by Gary Smith on 01/24/2008 07:14 PM

Comments (24)

Market Values in the Regional (Localism) Channel

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This post has been included in Michigan Information Oakland County, MI Information
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24 Comments on 2008 Oakland County Assessed Property Values Tumble

JAN

2008

Gary, I bet the local government is trying to figure out ways to keep the money.

Gary this is very important stuff! It is interesting how they are decreasing the assessed value. Many home owners across teh country cannot get that addressed.

John, You bet!.. Remember the addage "Beware the Ides of March" This will be a rough and tumble fight for some homeowners that purchased in the past few years. Especially trying to get their assessed value down to their foreclosure value.

Jim, I purchased my home in 2003. The value has decreased between 30 to 40 thousand since that time. Glad I had money to put down.

Until this year, assessed values were a two year average and did not include foreclosures. Now its one year (two must have been too much)

JAN

2008

Thanks for the stats, and it sickens me to see these drops. Again, I ask, who is dictating these values? And why are they not consistent with property tax values? There has to be a solution. Hope you have a great weekend. Lu

Lu, I'm not certain what the solution will be. Here is information from one home chosen at random.

For this homeowner, a 5 percent decrease in assessed property value SEV could still mean an increase in taxes because taxes are based upon taxable value. (information from Oakland County Public Records through Realcomp MLS. in a search January 25, 2008 of all homes in Maceday Woods subdivision with a last sold date before 1/1/1999.)

Year	Taxable Value	State Equalized Value	Homestead/ Percent	Total Taxes
2007	70,090.00	79,030.00	100.00	1,318.61
2006	67,590.00	79,790.00	100.00	2,047.09
2005	65,440.00	77,130.00	100.00	1,983.52
2004	63,970.00	76,600.00	100.00	1,942.13
2003	62,540.00	70,640.00	100.00	1,837.05

Updated to include Detroit News Article and Interactive Assessment Search January 25, 2008

FEB

2008

GREAT ARTICLE,

It's been what I've been trying to explain to my husband.

The taxes will keep going up until the law is changed. The law says the homestead can go up a certain % each year. It doesn't say anywhere that it can go down

Virginia, Yes, requests are already increasing for online evaluations. Some that purchased in 2006 or 2007 may benefit from the decrease in assessments. The rest of us will probably still pay more.

FEB

2008

Thank you Gary for your note. I will check out your recommendation, and let you know how it goes. Again, thank you for looking out for me. Lu

FEB

2008

Harry, I deleted your request so your information would not be available online.

I have an address for a Robert V but not in Ortonville. I will attempt to contact them and give them your phone number. If I am not able to contact them by next week I will call to let you know. Aloha

Hello, Gary! I attended a Michigan Property Tax Appeal seminar today at Schoolcraft I found VERY interesting. I think that is a next big topic for us here...

FEB

2008

Derek, Property taxes will be a big issue the next two or three years. Last year I received several requests from people who were fighting their assessment. Some had major errors where they had been assessed additional acreage for years. Others, misunderstood taxable value.

FEB

2008

Thanks Gary per Robert V. Anything you can do is appreciated. Could you indicate what town you have him located? His wife is Ruth Ann. aloha, Harry

Harry, Possibly in Holly MI. Letter sent today. will keep you informed. I did not include your phone or address, although both are available online. If it is the correct couple I will make sure they call and leave their phone.

FEB

2008

Harry, 170FRANCISlane in the city you first searched. They may have moved 5 phone numbers of 6 were available online and there is an ad apartment for rent.

Gary, Very helpful article. Mary Novak "Professionally Bringing Buyers & Sellers Together" www.MarvelousMary.com

FEB

2008

Mary, I've received several requests for assistance. People should be upset that they are paying more.

MAR

2008

Contacted Robert V. Noteworthy is patent Ciliko communications apparatus I found internet. Thanks your interest. aloha, Harry

MAR

2008

Hi Gary, my father lives in Grosse Pointe Park. He keeps telling me about the assessed property values dropping in areas throughout South Eastern MI and the relationship to the tax base that the local governments need to function properly. My heart goes out to you guys. You've got so much to deal with and so much to stay on top of and so many challenges to overcome while trying to grow your business as Realtors.

Kirk, Michigan and Florida are in similar situations, must be a snowbird thing ;-} I can't emagine how some homeowners feel that have a home in each State. I hope things never get like that in SC.