Home values in Metro Detroit continue to creep upwards, a sign of an improving economy.
Ursula Watson of The Detroit News writes that residential property assessments are up in all three Metro Detroit counties — nearly 12 percent, on average in Oakland and Macomb counties and about half that in Wayne. Figures are for 2014.
The good news is a higher assessment probably means a property can fetch more when it's sold, since by law the assessed rate is supposed to be half of the market value.
However, since assessments are the basis for property taxes, tax bills will go up by the rate of inflation — which the federal government says was 1.6 percent in 2014. But if a house is sold, the taxes will catch up to the full assessed value — which in some cases is substantially more than the current owners are paying.
Preliminary figures, subject to final approval by county review boards in April, show residential assessed values in Oakland are up an average of 11.64 percent countywide in 2014, 11.63 percent in Macomb and 5.67 percent in Wayne.
In Oakland County, Walled Lake had the highest assessment increase in 2014: 18.48 percent. In Macomb County, Sterling Heights showed an increase of 15.29 percent. And in Wayne County, Riverview showed the biggest jump: 20.95 percent.