Taxes Continue to Climb, Putting More Pressure on Owners

Covering property tax data for 87 million single-family homes, ATTOM Data has announced that an estimated $339.8 billion in property was levied in 2022, up 3.6% from $328 billion in 2021. This increase is double the 1.6% in growth recorded in 2021 and is also smaller than the 5.4% increase in 2020. 

ATTOM’s report also showed that the average tax on single-family homes in the country increased 3% in 2022 to $3,901 after rising 1.8% in 2021. The latest average tax resulted in an effective tax rate nationwide of 0.83%. That was down slightly from 0.86% in 2021 to the lowest point since at least 2016. 

ATTOM’s report used property tax data from county tax assessor's offices along with the values of these single-family homes via an automated valuation model. The effective tax rate was the average annual property tax expressed as a percentage of the average estimated market value of homes in each geographic area. 

According to ATTOM, in 2022 effective rates continued to decline even as total taxes rose because home values went up faster than taxes yet again throughout the country last year. Despite a stall in the nation's decade-long housing market boom in 2022, the average single-family home estimated value still rose 7.9% over the year. That surpassed the average tax increase, resulting in the small dip in effective rates. 

"Property taxes continued their never-ending climb last year, with wide disparities continuing from one area of the country to another, connected to varying costs, services, and tax bases. But, on balance, the latest increase nationwide again was modest," said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. "This year, local governments and school systems will face even greater challenges keeping taxes in check, given rising inflation rates and a growing number of commercial properties that could be eligible for tax reductions after suffering a surge of vacancies during the pandemic." 

Click here to view the report in its entirety.