Are residential Property Assessments still unfair in Detroit?
The November 24 edition of the Detroit News contained an Op-ed essay by Christopher Berry. He examined property assessments in Detroit for 2016 to 2018 and Zillow data about the actual sales price. The state mandates that properties be assessed at on-half their market value. He argues that
properties selling for $28,000 or less are currently assessed at 65% of their actual market value. However, properties selling for more than $28,000 are currently assessed at only 31% of their market value. He contends that city is substantially over assessing properties owned by moderate income households but under assesses properties owned by more prosperous households. The lowest valued 30% of properties in the city appears to be substantially over assessed. His findings appear to be convincing. He has a 13 page paper with his evidence.
