New economic and housing data shows Long Island residents still suffering brutally at the hands of high property taxes. The raw numbers show a scary picture of poor economic performance and dramatically rising foreclosures. Fortunately, there is help to be found for those losing their homes by appealing their unfair property tax bills.
News Day reports new vehicle registrations on Long Island falling 200% from the end of 2012 to the end of 2013. Smith Travel Research hotel occupancy on the island down 25% at the beginning of 2014, while regional airport traffic flopped to the lowest level in over 14 months as of February 2014, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. On top of recent revelations of flat GDP growth in the U.S. this provides little hope of a dramatic financial turnaround any time soon.
Crushed under the weight of overblown property tax bills Long Islanders are also suffering from spiking foreclosures, at double the state average according to RealtyTrac.
As of April 2014 the data shows 5.12% of Nassau County homes still vacant, and the median sales prices of homes in Nassau and Suffolk County on the decline since October 2013.
While national media and real estate professionals herald a nation decrease in foreclosure activity the numbers on Long Island paint a completely different picture of the direction of this plight.
Year over year to April 2014 Nassau County foreclosures filings showed pre-foreclosures up 2.4%, foreclosure auctions up 5.9% and bank repossessions surging 137.5%. It is even uglier in Suffolk where bank repos rose 75%, auctions were up 40.8% and pre-foreclosure filings leap a massive 1,000% in April. Many of these cases are undoubtedly a result of high property taxes and homeowners remaining unaware of the help available to them to fight back and keep their Long Island homes.
The debate is huge. Everyone knows the tax system is broken, yet bringing meaningful reductions and fixing the system for all may not be a reality anytime soon, especially not soon enough for those trying to keep homes from foreclosure.
The Long Island tax experts at Property Tax Adjusters, Ltd. can help you determine if you are eligible for a reduction and relief from high property taxes. Take the first step in saving your home, and contact us today…