“Home prices have been off the charts here in Montgomery County, and now our property values are catching up,” Keith said.
Residential properties in Montgomery County, on average, increased in value by 34%. Keith said this value hike will not result in a 34% increase in taxes, however.
Rather, on average countywide, tax bills will see a 3.9% increase due to the historic rise in value. The auditor’s office estimates that this will add $38.1 million in revenue for local taxing districts, which include schools, cities, townships and libraries.
Other areas of the county, like Dayton and Miamisburg, could see property tax increases from 10-12%, depending on charter millage collected in their municipality or school levies that can’t be legally lowered.
New construction impactful
The final, updated values reflect changes made since the tentative values were released this summer, including new construction and the results of informal appeals held this fall, according to the auditor’s office.
In fact, the county went through a record year, seeing more than $465 million in new construction in 2023. These new construction projects range from housing complexes in Trotwood and Dayton to a new Kroger grocery store in Riverside.
The community with the highest residential new construction was Washington Twp., bringing in $111 million in new construction. Next up was Huber Heights with $19.6 million and Dayton with $10.3 million.
“We have seen tremendous growth in new construction this year, nearly double the amount we saw last year,” Keith said. “That is great news for Montgomery County. It is a sign of new jobs and new housing coming to our community.”
Legislation in limbo
The Ohio Homeowners Relief Act, a house bill aimed at expanding the Homestead Exemption for older Ohioans with a fixed income, passed the Ohio Senate in December and awaits the governor’s signature.
Time is running out on other legislation geared toward the Homestead Exemption, replacement tax levies and property tax freezes for certain owner-occupied homes.
Keith said the County Auditor’s Association of Ohio is monitoring these bills.
“We don’t know that a lot of these bills have legs, but I think it does point out that there’s movement among legislators to address this issue,” Keith said on Thursday. “They realize that this is an issue that people want to see some action on. But whether they can agree on what action is yet to be seen.”
Property owners can look-up their final new property value online. Property owners will also receive a notice of their final new value in the mail in the next few weeks. For many property owners, this final value will be the same as the tentative value they received notice of over the summer, Keith said.
Between Jan. 1 and April 1, property owners can file appeals with the Board of Revision if they disagree with their new value.
Impact on renters
Any change in value can have a reverberating impact on renters, as owners of residential and commercial rental property alike often pass any increase to their tax bills on to their tenants, according to Destiny Brown, the Dayton Tenants Union coordinator and an Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE) community organizer.
The Dayton Tenants Union is a group that advocates for renters’ rights and fairness in housing.
Brown said people living with fixed incomes could be forced to seek housing elsewhere. People, too, impacted by discrimination in housing policy will be impacted “trifold,” Brown said.
“Some people are barely holding onto what they have, as is,” she said.
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