When property values were going up, up and only up it was nice to get a property tax bill from the assessors office that was astonishingly low. Thanks to the 18 month lag in the property sale data we’ll be receiving a tax bill from the assessors office that will be based on property values from 2006.  Considering that the median home price has fallen almost 13% since then the tax bill will not be nicely welcomed by most people.  Especially in those cases where you know your home value is not what it says on the bill.  As Misty Williams notes in her East Valley Tribune article:

The latest valuations represent what was happening in the market from mid-2006 to fall 2007 and are just now beginning to reflect the housing decline, County Assessor Keith Russell said.

The region’s median home price fell 12.9 percent to $199,800 from $229,500, the assessor’s recent report shows. But that drop in value won’t necessarily translate to a decline in property taxes.

That’s the reality of the real estate market swing we just went through. Stay calm though because in a few years it should all balance out.