I was saddened at the number of Wake County residents behind on their property tax payments. The list of liens ran 33 pages in an N&O ad paid for by $45,000 of taxpayer money. As a Realtor and homeowner myself, I am not surprised.
While most of the blame for the recession belongs to inept politicians and greedy bankers, local leaders have played a large part by creating malaise in segments of our real estate market. Wake property owners were hit with revaluations at the peak of the market. Now that market values have dropped significantly, we are stuck paying taxes based on inflated numbers. This makes it even harder for sellers, because buyers will be forced to pay taxes on a house sometimes 10 percent to 30 percent more expensive. A healthy real estate market is critical to our economy, and this predicament is dragging it down.
Our elected leaders and others involved must find a solution to closing the gap between assessed and market value for real property or the delinquent list will grow along with the budget gap. Our real estate market has fared better than most, but this list shows many of our citizens are still struggling, in large part due to unrealistic 2008 revaluations.
