The Montgomery County Auditor's office released a detailed city-by-city breakdown of its tentative property value update Thursday. This year residential properties countywide will see a record setting 34% average increase. Commercial properties countywide should expect an increase of 11.5%.
Ohio law requires every county auditor to update property values every six years, there’s also a reappraisal in the three-year interim — though not all counties are on the same cycle.
The communities with the most growth in property values are Washington Township, Kettering, Dayton, Huber Heights and Centerville.
Washington Township will see the largest residential increase, gaining more than $1 billion in value. In the City of Dayton, property values will go up by an average of 29% — the largest increase in years — while some of the southern suburbs will see a higher increase at around 40%.
Though Karl Keith, Montgomery County’s auditor, said every city and township will see an increase in the double digits for the first time in history.
“The real estate market is so robust right now, it has slowed down a little bit, but the prices still remain strong and most of it is just because the demand is so great that the supply can't keep up with it. So that's forcing prices to go up,” Keith said.
Keith said, however, that a 34% average increase in property value does not equal a 34% hike in property taxes.
“Most people could have a 4% to 6% increase in their taxes. Some people will see their taxes decline, it's just the way it works in Ohio and how the formulas all work.”
The auditor’s office will send notices of the tentative new values to most property owners in early August.
If a property owner disagrees with the new value, they will have the opportunity to schedule a one-on-one Zoom or telephone meeting with the auditor’s office.
Alejandro Figueroa is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms.
