Property Taxes & Falling Values Part II - Howard Voyles | HousingMatrix.com

This issue we will look at the Cleveland Fed’s study on the impact of falling property values and their implications for tax collection.

The Fed’s study focused on Cuyahoga County surrounding greater Cleveland. The lessons are common to many communities across the nation.

“Fortunately, large declines in the reappraisal values will have smaller effects on tax collections. In Cuyahoga County, residential property taxes are calculated by multiplying the tax rate of the district by 35 percent of the value of the home as appraised by the county. Basing property taxes on a percentage of the tax estimate reduces the impact of fluctuations in estimates on tax revenues. Governments sometimes use a value stabilizer in property tax calculations similar to that of Cuyahoga County, providing some protection against such steep declines in value.”

For Better - Jeff Thredgold / Tea Leaf

It’s nice for a change to be able to talk about an American economy that is, for the moment, getting stronger. After growing at a truly pathetic real (inflation adjusted) annual rate of less than 0.9% during 2011’s first six months, the economy grew at a revised 2.0% real annual rate during the third quarter.

Property Taxes & Falling Values Part I - Howard Voyles / HousingMatrix.com

The Cleveland Fed just released a study on the impact of falling property values on municipal finance.

This is a subject we have from several points of view over the past months and this report brings it home for communities surrounding Cleveland, a lesson for all communities.

Score One for the Brits - Rodney Johnson / HSDent (12/19/11)

Ten days ago the European Community (EC) met in an effort to hash out a deal on saving the euro.  The meeting in and of itself is interesting because the euro is the currency of only 17 countries in what is called the euro zone, which is a subset of the 27 countries in the EC.  One of the largest and most influential members of the EC is Great Britain, who chose not to join the common currency, instead retaining its autonomy when it comes to monetary policy.