In his presentation, Keith said that although prices have slowed down, sales remain strong this year, above 10,000 in Montgomery County. Last year, the county broke a record with more than 12,000 valid real estate sales.
"Even though we have seen some slowdown in the market, the number of sales has slowed down, but the price has not," Keith said. "The price has remained strong and unprecedented."
There has also been significant legislation which has impacted the real estate industry, one of them being House bill 51. This bill allows county auditors to lower the property value on properties that have been significantly damaged or destroyed. With this bill, the auditor's office will have the tools now to help property owners get tax relief, and limit bureaucracy in the process.
One piece of legislation was instrumental in the change in value of the manufacturer, Dayton Phoenix Group, a locomotive manufacturing company which was damaged by the 2019 Memorial Day tornado.
The property was previously valued around $6 million. As a result of the damage, the auditor’s office reduced the value down to $600,000. The property has now been rebuilt and set at a higher value.
Auditor Keith said that these changes are a big boost to the Dayton region.
On residential value increases , the Auditor's office said Montgomery County residents should expect similar changes seen in neighboring counties .
"Miami County, had an average increase of 25%. Clark County had an average increase of 27 and a half percent. Those are numbers that we typically have not seen before. We can anticipate that that's going to be what we're going to see this year. And that would be the state's recommendations as we move forward." Keith said.
For the triennial preview, 13 counties, including Greene and Montgomery are scheduled to complete updates this year.
