MILWAUKEE – By now, you’ve probably seen the statistic that the average property value in Milwaukee has increased 17.36 percent compared to the last time an assessment was conducted in 2022.
As can be expected, many residents and business owners have questions about what that means for their taxes, and hopeful first-time homeowners may feel worried that as values continue to rise, home ownership may be drifting further from reality.
To learn more about the process, I spoke to the Commissioner of Assessments Nicole Larsen. She says her office handles a lot more than just assessing property values.
“We have about 23 appraisers that work on and put values to the approximately 151,000 taxable properties in the city.” says Larsen. “Plus a number of administrative staff that work to do things like answer phone calls, process deeds, and answer any questions that come through the door.”
Property assessments are impacted by several different factors, including inflation, available housing inventory, as well as other variables dictated by the real estate market. “Sales prices have continued to climb since 2018-19…everything we do is based on and reflective of what the real estate market is doing.” says Larsen. It’s also important to note that what a property is valued at and what a property may sell for are different numbers; a home’s sell value for instance is often dictated by various market factors not considered when assessing a piece of property.
One thing Larsen is hoping to clear up is the fact that the 17.36 percent increase takes into two years worth of data, since in 2023 instead of a full assessment the office performed what it calls a maintenance assessment, which carried over values from the prior year.
Another misconception about property assessment is that an increase in property value automatically means an increase in property taxes. Larsen says rather than thinking of value increases like a sales tax increase, you need to compare the rate of increase on your property versus the average rate across your municipality. For example, if a 100,000 dollar home and a 200,000 home both have a 20,000 dollar increase in their property value, the 100,000 dollar home would see an increase in property tax since the value increase of 20 percent is above the 17.36 percent average, while the 10 percent increase on the 200,000 dollar home would see a slight decrease in taxes.
Naturally, some may think their property was improperly or incorrectly assessed, and an appeal period runs until May 20th. That date is statutory, meaning it cannot be shortened or extended. “We have no control over that, we cannot extend it, we cannot enlarge it,” says Larsen. “Even if you don’t have all of the supporting information, you need to get that written document into us that says you would like to object to your assessment.” You can access the appeal form here.
For those worried about being priced out of homebuying, Larsen says there are options such as considering city-owned homes, as well as applying for the Homebuyer Assistance Program and the Milwaukee Home Down Payment Assistance Program.
To view the current value of any Milwaukee property, you can use access the city’s property assessment database here.
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