The future of Long Island’s real estate market, and perhaps the future of the island itself is in your hands. What are you going to do about it?
CNN Money just published a new national property tax ‘heat’ map showing where the highest property tax rates in the country were being levied. It shouldn’t be any shock that the northeast is the hardest hit, with Nassau County taking second place for the highest average property taxes in the U.S.
Illinois and California put a few blips on the map, but nothing compared to New England and New York in particular. In fact, we have some of the highest property tax bills on the planet.
Some may just take it as coming with the territory of living in this area, or are willing to make the sacrifice that comes with higher earnings. However, this isn’t just a matter of what is coming out of the pocket of Long Island homeowners this month or year. This situation is going to have a huge impact on future home price growth (appreciation, equity and wealth building), and the local economy, and desirability of the island as a place to live especially if public services are impacted.
Long Island’s sky high property taxes seriously impact affordability. When surveyed real estate analysts and experts agreed that affordability was the one main factor which could be used to predict future price and property value growth. High property taxes are certainly a barrier to this, especially when compounded with already high property prices.
Ironically, Nassau and Suffolk County property tax bills are already dramatically overblown and shouldn’t be, and are eating up thousands in potential home equity and disposable income for local home buyers and home owners.
Even though everyone admits the system is broken, it has been firmly tossed in hands of individual homeowners to deal with time and again, year after year. This stands to get even worse now with so many getting tax breaks which have to be made up by neighbors.
This means taking personal action to correct and lower Long Island property tax bills isn’t just about the thousands of dollars in potential personal savings, but also about preserving future wealth and the Island itself. So have you filed your tax grievance yet?