Not just because of fracking though, the favorable business climate helps. In this area many sellers are getting multiple offers as soon as the home goes on the market, sometimes over the asking price. Unfortunately, that affects the comps for existing homes and we get to pay more in property taxes.
Lately I am seeing Reators signs in yards that say “Coming Soon”.
I don’t remember ever seeing that before.
“Unfortunately, that affects the comps for existing homes and we get to pay more in property taxes.”
That is a dangerous situation that basically can price people out of their own homes/neighborhoods; it happened in northern NJ as NYC fell. Rural areas along the NJ/NY border were built up to accomodate the flight of wealthy whites from NYC, and the original people there couldn’t afford to stay (property taxes rose so quickly because the NYC transplants wanted every amenity imagineable).
Gov. Christie’s 2% property tax cap would prevent something like that from happening today.
“Unfortunately, that affects the comps for existing homes and we get to pay more in property taxes.”
Maybe an initiative could be passed in Texas like California did in the late 1970s to limit property taxes based on what the owner paid for his property.
It has withstood continual court challenges. It is Proposition 13.
It limits taxes to 1% of the assessed value, where assessed value is the purchase price. Such value can be increased only 2% per year.