Star Tribune Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:43:57 GMT
Some homeowners are seeing big drops in values for 1st time
The declines in assessments are coming in middle-class neighborhoods away from foreclosure pockets in Minneapolis. The latest city assessments are bringing some unusual news to much of Minneapolis: Home values are dropping. Drops of $20,000 to $30,000 are not uncommon in middle-class areas of south Minneapolis, where just a few months ago the assessor was expecting values to remain stable. Although assessor Patrick Todd last fall predicted falling values on the foreclosure-ravaged North Side, some homeowners also report lower assessments in places such as Longfellow, Standish-Ericsson, Kingfield and Fulton. Some have never seen a drop before. "It was a big surprise to me," said Bill Kahn of Prospect Park, who got news of his 10 percent assessment cut on Saturday. "Usually in this neighborhood it never goes down." The arrival of assessment notices represents the latest evidence that the sagging home market is having an impact even on those who stay put and aren't surrounded by foreclosures. Hennepin County Assessor Tom May said suburban residential property is down between 2 and 3 percent. Ramsey County owners should start to see their notices by midweek. Some homeowners welcome a falling assessment, in hopes they'll pay lower taxes. Others worry that they're losing equity in their biggest asset. But the impact of this year's values on next year's taxes isn't clear. It depends partly on how much the city levies and partly on how a home's value changes in relation to the city's overall tax base. But with home values sagging and commercial property appreciating, it's likely that homeowners as a group will bear less of the city's tax burden, reversing a long-term trend. Values down, prices up?
[[keywords: Housing;PropertyTax;Metro;]]
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