County home values jump 20%
than 9% a year.
For the most part, less-expensive areas saw the biggest percentage jumps in value. In part, that’s due to simple math: Those areas are starting from lower figures. The increase also is an indicator of the enormous demand among first-time buyers for homes priced at less than $200,000.
“Where there’s an easier-to-market price point is where you’ll likely see a higher property-value increase,” Stinziano said.
“If you had a million-dollar home in New Albany, it didn’t double to $2 million, but in Columbus, a $100,000 house could very well have doubled in value.”
Because of the way the values are calculated, many homeowners still might find the auditor’s values less than what their home might fetch in today’s market. Instead of comparing the estimated value of homes today to values three years ago, the auditor averages the values of homes over the three years since the previous assessment: 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Because of that, the auditor’s 20% increase in home values is actually less than other estimates. Columbus Realtors figures show that the median central Ohio home price rose 21.8% from 2017 through 2019, and the real estate website Zillow places the figure even higher, at 24.1%.
Cheryl Capraro, whose home on West Kanawha Avenue in Sharon Township rose almost 30% in value, believes she could sell it for more than its current estimated worth of $188,600.
“A house down the street just sold for more than $200,000 and hasn’t been updated like ours,” she said. “We’ve done a lot of renovations inside this house.”
As Stinziano is quick to note, a 20% jump in home values does not mean that property taxes will rise 20%.
A 1976 state law limits the amount of new taxes that can be collected because of a rise in property values. The “effective millage’’ on property taxes decreases to reflect the rise in value.
Some taxes, called “inside millage,” which amount to less than 10 mills, will increase with the rising home values. Taxes also will shift, as homes that rise more in value than other homes in a taxing district take on more of the tax burden.
Stinziano said he will not know how much taxes on individual homes will change until final values are set in December and the outcomes of some tax issues on the November ballot are determined.
Figures released this week are tentative. Those who believe their value is inaccurate may challenge it through the auditor’s Know Your Home Value website. They should be prepared to show evidence, such as comparable sales or citing incorrect information about their house on the auditor’s website.
After that, homeowners who still believe that their values are incorrect may challenge them in Board of Revision hearings in the spring. Stinziano knows what to expect.
"We’re going to have a very active Board of Revision,“he said. jweiker@dispatch.com @Jimweiker