Professor Berry comments on ongoing property tax inequities in Detroit and why the City’s reappraisal failed
Opinion: Despite Duggan’s claims, Detroit still overtaxes homeowners.
Homes in poor neighborhoods are taxed at roughly twice the rate of those in rich areas, study shows
The methods cities use to assess property values skew the final effective tax rates dramatically, according to a review of 26 million home sales.
The Property Tax Project in Business Week
A Business Week article based on our work highlights racial disparities in assessment. Features commentary by Professor Berry
Professor Berry in Detroit Evening News – Jan 21st, 2021
Professor Berry in Detroit Evening News – Jan 21st 2021 The University of Chicago Center for Municipal Finance believes the city’s assessment process is weighted against homes under $28,000. “Most low priced homes are still being assessed well in excess of their...
Professor Berry discusses the impact of assessment inequity on NPR
Higher Property Taxes: Homeownership Costs More For Black Families, Sasha-Ann Simons, 1A, WAMU and NPR, July 2020
Pew Trusts cite the Center’s work in Chicago and Detroit in their report on racial inequities
In 2017, the Chicago Tribune published a series of stories on the Cook County Tax Assessor’s Office, finding that for years the county’s property tax system had given huge financial breaks to homeowners in wealthier and largely white communities while placing an unfair burden on poorer people living in minority communities… In February, the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy released a review of property assessments in Detroit between 2016-2018, finding that the property tax burden fell disproportionately on the city’s lowest-income homeowners.
The Center’s Property Tax Project is cited in the New York Times
In a newly released study, the University of Chicago’s Center for Municipal Finance analyzed Detroit’s 2016-2018 assessment data. They find that — while the average home price was $35,600 — the majority of lower-valued homes (less than $19,000 sale price) were assessed in excess of the Michigan Constitution’s established limit. Due in large part to systematic overcharging, Detroit has one of the highest property tax foreclosure rates of any city since the Great Depression.
Data Scientist Eric Langowski presents the Center’s work at SatRday Chicago 2020
Langowski’s presentation regarding the Center’s R package and related code, and its use in our property tax evaluations, begins at minute 50:00.
Legal Action in Detroit highlights widespread but varying nature of inequities uncovered by Center
“‘Detroit is not the only place to have this problem but it is among the worst that I have seen,’ said Christopher Berry, University of Chicago.”