Region leads in falling home values

Over the past several years, homeowners in Southeast Michigan have been feeling the effects of decreasing home values. The glut of unsold homes -- many put on the market as the result of job loss and a subsequent move out of this region – coupled with the foreclosure crisis, have served to drive down the value of our homes. Homeowners who must sell are finding that they cannot get out of the house what they still owe, unless they have been in the house for a number of years or made a large down payment at the outset. Property tax bills, while showing a decreasing assessed value, are often still going up thanks to the Headlee Amendment. This is seen as “adding insult to injury” and homeowners, as well as legislators, are fighting to make sure taxes cannot increase unless assessments increase as well.

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