Image credit: Laura Herberg/WDET
Economists back research that found one-third of Detroitâs residential properties are being assessed at more than 50% of the homeâs value.
Correction: This story has been updated from a previous version to say the study was authored by Christopher Berry. The economists’ analysis of Berry’s study has also been clarified.
Housing analysts say Detroit is still overtaxing its lowest-valued homes and the assessment disparity has widened in recent years; since re-appraising all of its homes in 2017, Detroit’s lowest-valued homes are still being assessed at four times the rate as highest-valued homes.
Researchers with the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy say one-third of Detroit’s residential properties are being assessed at more than 50% of the home’s value, which is above Michigan’s legal threshold. The Duggan administration has challenged that
Economists back study that found Detroit still inflating property taxes
Detroit A coalition fighting for fairness in property tax assessments joined with economists, legal and finance scholars Thursday to call for state and city leaders to investigate the ongoing inaccuracy and inequity in property tax assessments in Detroit.
The Coalition for Property Tax Justice contends multiple studies have found the lowest-valued homes in Detroit continue to be overassessed even after a citywide reappraisal in 2017 that cost $8.4 million and it s putting thousands of Detroiters at risk of unjust foreclosure.
Tom Perriello, executive director of the Open Society Foundations, a human rights advocacy group, said it s beyond disputable fact that inflated property taxes is a national problem that is specifically well-documented in Detroit.