Prop 13 limits the property tax at 1% of purchase value since 1978. If you have been in your house since 1977 it is 1% of the value in 77. If the house was 50,000. Your tax is 500. If you buy a 500,000 house now, your tax would be 5,000 per year.
Cities are allowed to raise the taxes a small amount over time. After 42 years most tax rates around the state are about 1.17% A small increase from 1% in 1978.
The democrats are constantly trying to get around prop 13, but they have been beaten back. The current attempt is to raise commercial property taxes. But one of the positives in CAL is the low rate of property taxes and if you stay in your home in the long term you’re getting a real break over other states and people who move around frequently.
The state also allows seniors to move within the same county and transfer their old tax to the new property (Prop 60). 7 counties allow you to transfer from other counties (prop 90).
Um, yaz. I’m rather familiar with those numbers as I own properties in NorCal.
The point is that the rate may be low, but what’s the valuation?
That can only be increased by at most, 2%/yr as I noted.
That was the reason for Jarvis-Gann. Valuations were skyrocketing in the Los Angeles basin in 77 when they put together the proposition for the 78 ballot. Old people - like me - on fixed incomes were getting pushed out of their homes by rising valuations - not rates.
And it was happening to big rental owners like Jarvis, which is what the theft class is really green with rage over: it means big property owners kept their profit margins.
That’s what they will be screaming over the next 10 months going up to the election.