News Updates

Nearly 40% of Renters Think They’ll Never Own a Home, Up From 27% Last Year

by admin
Comment Off
229 views

Lack of affordability is the most commonly cited reason renters don’t believe they’ll ever own a home Nearly two in five (38%) U.S. renters don’t believe they’ll ever own a home, up from roughly one-quarter (27%) less than a year ago, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Lack of affordability is the prevailing reason renters believe they’re unlikely to become homeowners. Nearly half (44%) of renters who don’t believe they’ll buy a home in the near future said it’s because available homes are too expensive. The next most common obstacles: Ability to save for a down payment (35%), ability to afford mortgage payments (33%) and high mortgage rates (32%). Roughly one in eight (14%) simply aren’t interested in owning a home. This is according to a Redfin-commissioned survey of roughly 3,000 U.S. residents, including about 1,000 renters, conducted by Qualtrics in February 2024. Buying a home has become increasingly out of reach for many Americans due to the one-two punch of high home prices and high mortgage rates. First-time homebuyers must earn roughly $76,000 to afford the typical U.S. starter home, up 8% from a year ago and up nearly 100% from before the pandemic, according to a recent Redfin analysis. Home prices have risen 7% in the last year alone, and monthly mortgage payments have risen more than 10%, which helps explain why renters today are more likely than they were last year to say they don’t see themselves owning a home anytime soon. Many renters can’t fathom homeownership because they’re already struggling to afford their monthly housing costs. Nearly one-quarter (24%) of renters say they regularly struggle to afford their housing payments, and an additional 45% say they sometimes struggle to do so. Rents have soared over the last few years because so many people moved during the pandemic, upping demand for rentals. The median U.S. asking rent is roughly $2,000, near the record high hit in 2022—but the good news for renters is that prices aren’t growing nearly as fast as they were during the pandemic, partly because an influx of apartment supply is taking some of the heat off prices. “Housing costs are high across the board, but renting is a more affordable and realistic option for many Americans right now—especially those who have never owned a home and aren’t able to tap into equity from a previous sale,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “While owning a home is usually a sound long-term investment, the barriers to entry and upfront costs of buying are higher than renting. Buying typically requires a sizable down payment and approval for a mortgage—things that are difficult for many people today, when the typical down payment is near $60,000 and mortgage payments are sky-high. The sheer expense of purchasing a home is causing the American Dream of homeownership to lose some of its shine.” Gen Z renters are most likely to believe they’ll own a home Broken down by generation, Gen Z renters are by far the most likely to believe they will become homeowners. Just 8% of Gen Z renters believe they’ll never own a home, compared to 22% of millennials, 40% of Gen Xers and 81% of baby boomers. That stands to reason, as adult Gen Zers (aged 18-27) are in the early stages of their careers and have a lot of time to eventually become homeowners. Older generations, especially baby boomers, may have already owned a home and decided to rent for the convenience and low-maintenance lifestyle, or are on a fixed income. To view the full report, including charts and methodology, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/renters-becoming-homeowners-2024

by admin
Comment Off
361 views

The residential real estate investment industry is experiencing a major shakeup across the country, as the short list of industry giants who have controlled the market for the last 15 years are suffering massive employee exodus due to poor management, outdated sales tactics and ambitions of a big cashout payday. “With modern times comes modern expectations. Investment real estate professionals no longer want to work for organizations whose executives or board of directors have their sights set on selling the company out to Wall Street or a VC fund. They’re looking for long term pathways that will enable them to fulfill their entrepreneurial desires, while still being connected to something greater where they have input and control,” said Trey Watson, Founder and CEO at Aurumys. “Building a company with the primary goal of selling out is a poison pill that swiftly rots your culture and confuses priorities, which will ultimately bring even the greatest organizations to their knees. You can’t serve the people if you answer to a board in this particular industry. It’s about the people first”. Aurumys is an investment real estate brokerage that operates a private marketplace where real estate investors and homeowners buy and sell investment properties. The company’s primary focus is developing top tier talent within their team, which Aurumys believes directly translates to a premium and tailored experience for their investor and homeowner customers. “You can have the best proprietary tech in the world, but if you don’t have great people and you don’t invest in your inner organization, real estate investors will see right through you and you’ll fail your homeowner customers,” claims Trey. The leadership team at Aurumys brings decades of high frequency transactional experience to the table, having climbed the ladders of the industry’s top firms. In less than 1 year, Aurumys has expanded to 6 states and over 80 employees, with brick-and-mortar offices in Phoenix, Denver, Indianapolis, Albuquerque, Austin and Fort Lauderdale. The company plans to open at least 3 more offices in 2024, and to have 16 operational offices by the end of 2025. Its headquarters is based in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information visit www.Aurumys.com or call 602-975-1822. About Aurumys Pronounced ARE – UMM – ISS. Aurumys is a residential real estate investment brokerage that operates a private marketplace for real estate investors and homeowners, enabling them to buy and sell investment grade property efficiently. The core customers Aurumys aims to work with are typically mom and pop real estate investors or small partnerships, as well as homeowners who want to sell their property. SOURCE Aurumys

by admin
Comment Off
535 views

Foreclosure Starts See Quarterly Increase of 2 Percent; Bank Repossessions Up 7 Percent from Previous Quarter ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, released its Q1 2024 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows a total of 95,349 U.S. properties with a foreclosure filings during the first quarter of 2024, up 3 percent from the previous quarter but down less than 1 percent from a year ago. The report also shows a total of 32,878 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in March 2024, down less than 1 percent from the previous month and down 10 percent from a year ago. “Q1 2024’s foreclosure data reveals a market in transition, with slight increases in filings and starts, alongside a notable decrease in REO properties,” explains Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “While foreclosures remain relatively stable, we’re closely monitoring these trends. Homeowners continue to hold significant equity, contributing to a persistently hot housing market.” Foreclosure starts increase nationwide A total of 67,657 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process in Q1 2024, up 2 percent from the previous quarter and up 4 percent from a year ago. States that had 100 or more foreclosures starts in Q1 2024 and saw the greatest quarterly increase included, New Hampshire (up 43 percent); Illinois (up 26 percent); Florida (up 22 percent); Rhode Island (up 21 percent); and Nevada (up 16 percent). U.S. Foreclosure Starts Those major metros with a population of 200,000 or more that had the greatest number of foreclosures starts in Q1 2024 included, New York, New York (4,404 foreclosure starts); Houston, Texas (2,977 foreclosure starts); Chicago, Illinois (2,867 foreclosure starts); Los Angeles, CA (2,398 foreclosure starts); and Miami, FL (2,319 foreclosure starts). Highest foreclosure rates in Delaware, New Jersey, and South Carolina Nationwide one in every 1,478 housing units had a foreclosure filing in Q1 2024. States with the highest foreclosure rates were Delaware (one in every 894 housing units with a foreclosure filing); New Jersey (one in every 919 housing units); South Carolina (one in every 929 housing units); Nevada (one in every 961 housing units); and Florida (one in every 973 housing units). Among 224 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in Q1 2024 were Columbia, South Carolina (one in every 569 housing units); Spartanburg, South Carolina (one in 597); Lakeland, Florida (one in 624); Atlantic City, New Jersey (one in 628); and Cleveland, Ohio (one in 662). U.S. Historical Total Foreclosure Activity Other major metros with a population of at least 1 million and foreclosure rates in the top 15 highest nationwide, included Cleveland, Ohio at No.5; Riverside, California at No. 9; Orlando, Florida at No.10; Las Vegas, Nevada at No. 13; and Jacksonville, Florida at No. 15. Bank repossessions increase 7 percent from last quarter Lenders repossessed 10,052 U.S. properties through foreclosure (REO) in Q1 2024, up 7 percent from the previous quarter but down 20 percent from a year ago. U.S. Completed Foreclosures (REOs) Those states that had the greatest number of REOs in Q1 2024 were Michigan (1,049 REOs); California (845 REOs); Pennsylvania (838 REOs); Illinois (810 REOs); and Texas (596 REOs). Average time to foreclose increases 2 percent from previous quarter Properties foreclosed in Q1 2024 had been in the foreclosure process for an average of 736 days. While this marks a slight increase from the previous quarter, it represents a 20 percent decrease from the same time last year, continuing a downward trajectory observed since mid-2020. Average Days to Complete Foreclosure States with the longest average foreclosure timelines for homes foreclosed in Q1 2024 were Louisiana (2,641 days); Hawaii (2,031 days); New York (1,958 days); Nevada (1,701 days); and Kentucky (1,701 days). States with the shortest average foreclosure timelines for homes foreclosed in Q1 2024 were Montana (123 days); Virginia (152 days); Texas (163 days); Wyoming (191 days); and West Virginia (217 days). March 2024 Foreclosure Activity High-Level Takeaways

by admin
Comment Off
348 views

RISING INSURANCE COSTS A GROWING CONCERN FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTORS Insurance challenges have become a major cause of concern among real estate investors, according to the Spring 2024 Investor Sentiment Survey from RCN Capital, conducted by market intelligence firm CJ Patrick Company. Over 68% of the investors surveyed noted that rising insurance costs or the unavailability of insurance coverage was a factor in their decisions to buy and sell real estate. Almost 57% noted that these insurance issues had caused them to miss out on an investment opportunity. To view the full report: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/FkHtyJV/InvestorSentimentSpring24 The problem is particularly acute for investors in states which have seen unusually high levels of extreme weather events over the past few years and have subsequently seen homeowner insurance rates double or triple. In some cases, insurers have pulled out of these states entirely. Over 90% of fix-and-flip investors in Florida and 83% in California claimed to have missed out on an investment opportunity due to insurance issues. Similarly, 44% of rental property investors in both states cited insurance matters as their second-biggest challenge in today’s market, behind only the high cost of financing. “Investors are already facing many challenges in today’s housing market – rising prices, limited inventory, and higher financing costs,” said RCN Capital CEO Jeffrey Tesch. “Soaring insurance costs, and instances where hazard insurance is simply not available is another significant hurdle for these investors to overcome.” The Spring 2024 Investor Sentiment Survey is the fourth quarterly report from RCN Capital, taking the pulse of real estate investors across the country, identifying market challenges and opportunities, and getting feedback on current trends and events. Investor Sentiment Cautiously Optimistic Investor sentiment on today’s market conditions was something of a mixed bag in this survey. Fewer investors thought conditions today were better than last year compared to respondents in the Winter 2023 survey (37% vs. 40%), but only 27% felt conditions were worse, which was the lowest number recorded in the survey series. Investors were more optimistic about future market conditions in the Spring (42%) than in the Winter (39%), and only 18% expected conditions to worsen over the next six months. Fix-and-flip investors are more comfortable with market conditions today and more optimistic about the future than rental property investors. Forty percent of flippers but only 23% of rental property investors felt that conditions today were better than a year ago; and 43% of flippers and 32% of rental property investors believe that things will continue to improve. Investors Facing New Challenges and Local Issues Investors cited many of the same factors as major challenges to their success as in previous surveys, but there were some new findings. The high cost of financing was mentioned by 71% of respondents; rising home prices (a new option) was cited by 45%; the lack of inventory of properties for sale was mentioned next by 36% of respondents; and competition from institutional investors by 35%. Generally, these trends were similar for both flippers and rental property investors. Financing costs were noted by 75% of flippers and 78% of rental investors; rising home prices by 46% and 52% respectively; inventory by 34% and 40%; and competition from larger investors by 31% and 35%. But digging into the findings from the two states most frequently mentioned for purchases by investors revealed different local market conditions. While both types of investors cited high finance costs most frequently as a major challenge, flippers in Florida mentioned competition from large investors much more frequently (62%) and noted difficulty securing a loan as their third biggest challenge (57%). Florida rental investors cited insurance issues as their second-biggest challenge (44%) and 28% mentioned problems securing a loan. California flippers, on the other hand, cited only two major challenges with any frequency: high financing costs (90%) and rising home prices (64%). California rental property investors, like their Florida counterparts cited insurance issues 44% of the time, their second most mentioned challenge. These rental investors also cited difficulty hiring more often than their peers nationwide at 22%. “If California and Florida can be considered bellwether states in the real estate market, findings in this quarter’s survey may be predicting more widespread problems,” noted Rick Sharga, CJ Patrick Company CEO. “Investors in both states are already facing strong headwinds due to insurance issues, which may be contributing to some of the problems they’re having securing loans. We may start to see similar issues in other states prone to extreme weather events, such as Texas, Colorado, and Louisiana in the future.” Prices Expected to Rise, Investment Volume Consistent Investors continued to see the impact of rising home prices and higher mortgage rates in their local markets. Over 89% have seen either a decline in demand for owner-occupied homes, an increase in demand for rental properties, or both, in the markets where they invest. Investors believe that home prices will continue to increase – almost 59% expect home prices to go up, 31% believe prices will remain about the same, and less than 10% believe they’ll decrease. Despite these higher prices, 55% of respondents expect to buy the same number of properties as they did a year ago. Thirty-one percent expect to buy fewer and 14% expect to buy more. This marks the third consecutive quarter where fewer investors said they planned to buy more properties; interestingly, it’s also the third consecutive quarter where fewer investors said they planned to buy fewer homes. Most Investors Opting for Rental Properties, Buying Close to Home For the third time in the last four surveys, more investors claimed to focus on buying rental properties than fixing-and-flipping homes. Forty two percent of the respondents buy and rent properties, while 31% fix-and-flip properties to home buyers. Wholesaling – securing the rights to sell a property without taking title – was cited by 22% of respondents as their primary type of investment activity. As in the previous survey, the majority of investors purchase their investment properties close to home – 35% purchase within their

by admin
Comment Off
196 views

Americans report skipping meals, working overtime, and delaying medical care to afford housing Half of U.S. homeowners and renters (49.9%) sometimes, regularly or greatly struggle to afford their housing payments, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Many report making sacrifices to cover their housing costs. The most common sacrifice was taking no or fewer vacations. More than one-third of homeowners and renters (34.5%) who struggle to afford housing indicated that they skipped vacations in the past year in order to afford their monthly costs. But many people who struggle to afford housing made more serious sacrifices: 22% skipped meals and 20.7% worked extra hours at their job. A similar share (20.6%) sold belongings. These responses are based on a Redfin-commissioned survey conducted by Qualtrics in February 2024. The nationally representative survey was fielded to roughly 3,000 U.S. homeowners and renters. Most of Redfin’s report focuses on the 1,494 respondents who indicated that they sometimes, regularly or greatly struggle to afford regular rent or mortgage payments. More than one of every six people (17.9%) who struggle to afford housing borrowed money from friends/family, and 17.6% dipped into their retirement savings. Over one in seven (15.6%) delayed or skipped medical treatments. “Housing has become so financially burdensome in America that some families can no longer afford other essentials, including food and medical care, and have been forced to make major sacrifices, work overtime and ask others for money so they can cover their monthly costs,” said Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao. “Fortunately, the country’s leaders are starting to pay attention, and homebuyers may get a reprieve in June if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates, which would bring down the cost of getting a mortgage.” Mortgage payments are near their all-time high due to rising prices and elevated mortgage rates: The median U.S. home sale price is up about 5% from a year ago, and mortgage rates are hovering around 7%, not far from the 23-year high of roughly 8% hit in October. The typical household earns roughly $30,000 less than it needs to afford the median-priced home, and rents are on the rise again. 14% of Millennials Dipped Into Retirement Savings to Afford Housing Payments Nearly one of every seven millennials (13.5%) who struggle to afford their housing payments have dipped into retirement savings to cover their monthly costs. Most millennials are not retired, but housing affordability has become so strained that some are resorting to outside-the-box strategies to cover expenses. Millennials are the largest adult generation, and many are aging into their homebuying years at a time when home prices and mortgage rates are high. The income needed to afford a starter home is up 8% from a year ago, prompting some young buyers to use family money to cover their down payment. Baby boomers who struggle to afford housing were most likely to dip into retirement funds, with over one-quarter (27.5%) saying they did so to cover housing expenses. That makes sense, as many baby boomers are already retired, and it’s common for retirees to put their retirement savings toward housing. Roughly 1 in 6 (15.5%) Gen Xers who struggle to afford housing dipped into retirement savings to afford monthly housing costs. The share was lowest among Gen Z respondents (6.5%), many of whom don’t yet have retirement savings. The IRS typically taxes people who make withdrawals from their retirement accounts before the age of 59.5, but makes an exception for qualified first-time homebuyers, who are allowed to borrow up to $10,000 tax free. Broken down by race/ethnicity, white respondents who struggle to afford housing were most likely (20.7%) to use retirement savings to cover housing costs, followed by Asian/Pacific Islander respondents (14%), Hispanic/LatinX respondents (13.6%) and Black respondents (12.6%). Black Respondents Most Likely Work Extra Hours to Afford Housing; Gen Zers Most Likely to Sell Belongings While pressing pause on vacations was the most common sacrifice for respondents as a whole, it wasn’t the top answer choice for every demographic. People of color and younger generations often made more serious sacrifices. For example, Black respondents who struggle to afford housing were most likely to say they worked extra hours (25.9%) to cover their monthly costs, while Hispanic respondents were most likely to say that they sold belongings (28.2%). Skipping vacations was the most common answer among Asian/Pacific Islander respondents (43.8%) and white respondents (39.6%). Black millennials are half as likely to own homes as white millennials, according to a separate Redfin analysis, though the racial homeownership gap exists across every generation due to decades of racist policies and discrimination. When it came to age groups, skipping vacations was the top choice for baby boomers (42.8%), Gen Xers (36.8%) and millennials (31.3%) who struggle to afford housing. But for Gen Zers, the most common sacrifices were working extra hours, selling belongings and skipping meals, all of which clocked in at roughly 27%. White Respondents, Baby Boomers and Homeowners Most Likely to Afford Housing Easily Of the roughly 2,995 people who took the survey, half (50.1%) said they can easily afford their regular rent or mortgage payments, and half (49.9%) said they sometimes, regularly or greatly struggle to do so. But the results vary by demographic. For example, 54.5% of white respondents said they can easily afford their housing payments, compared with 37.8% of Hispanic/LatinX respondents, 46.6% of Black respondents and 47.4% of Asian/Pacific Islander respondents. Baby boomers were most likely to say they easily afford housing payments (61.9%), followed by Gen Xers (48.7%), millennials (40.2%) and Gen Zers (26.9%). And homeowners (59.9%) were roughly twice as likely as renters (30.8%) to indicate that they easily afford their housing payments. To view the full report, including charts and a detailed methodology, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/homebuying-sacrifices-survey-2024

by admin
Comment Off
202 views

Total Single-Family Taxes Levied Nationwide in 2023 Rise Twice as Fast as in 2022; Average Property Tax Up 4 percent, to $4,062, While Effective Rate Also Increases; Highest Effective Tax Rates Remain Clustered in Northeast and Midwest ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, released its 2023 property tax analysis for 89.4 million U.S. single family homes, which shows that $363.3 billion in property taxes were levied on single-family homes in 2023, up 6.9 percent from $339.8 billion in 2022. The increase was almost double the 3.6 percent growth rate in 2022 – and the largest in the past five years. The report also shows that the average tax on single-family homes in the U.S. increased 4.1 percent in 2023, to $4,062, after going up 3 percent the previous year. The latest average tax resulted in an effective tax rate nationwide of 0.87 percent. That was up slightly from 0.83 percent in 2022, marking the first increase since 2017. View 2023 Property Taxes by County Heat Map The report analyzed property tax data collected from county tax assessor offices nationwide at the state, metro and county levels along with estimated market values of single-family homes calculated using an automated valuation model (AVM). The effective tax rate shows the average annual property tax expressed as a percentage of the average estimated market value of homes in each geographic area. Effective rates increased last year throughout much of the U.S. amid a combination of declining home values and rising tax bills. Nationwide, the average home value dipped 1.7 percent as the nation’s decade-long housing market boom cooled off in 2023, especially in the second half of the year when median home-sale prices declined. The decrease in values, along with rising taxes, resulted in a small increase in effective rates. Rate trends this year will depend heavily on whether recent drop-offs in home mortgage rates and a historically tight supply of homes for sale around the nation prompt a market rebound. A renewed spike in values that outpaces tax increases would lower effective rates, while the opposite would likely happen if prices stagnate. “Property taxes took an unusually high turn upward last year, pushing effective rates up, while huge gaps in average tax bills between different parts of country remained in place,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “The tax increases were likely connected, at least in part, to inflationary pressures on the cost of operating local governments and schools, along with rising public employee wages and other major expenses.” He added that “ongoing disparities in how much homeowners pay in different parts of the country are usually related to a couple of important things: varying levels of government services and reduced economies of scale in metro areas with many small municipalities that each maintain separate local governments and school systems.” Highest effective property tax rates in Northeast and Midwest, led by Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and NebraskaThe top 10 states with the highest effective property tax rates in 2023 were all in the Northeast and Midwest. They were led by Illinois (1.88 percent), New Jersey (1.64 percent), Connecticut (1.54 percent), New York (1.46 percent) and Nebraska (1.46 percent). Other states in the top 10 for highest effective property tax rates were Ohio (1.37 percent), Pennsylvania (1.33 percent), Vermont (1.29 percent), Kansas (1.26 percent) and New Hampshire (1.25 percent). Lowest effective rates in South and West, led by Hawaii, Arizona, Alabama, Delaware and TennesseeThe 10 states with the lowest effective property tax rates in 2023 were all in the South and West, Topping that list were Hawaii (0.31 percent), Arizona (0.41 percent), Alabama (0.42 percent), Delaware (0.43 percent) and Tennessee (0.44 percent). Other states with low effective property tax rates last year were Idaho (0.44 percent), Utah (0.45 percent), Nevada (0.48 percent), Colorado (0.48 percent) and West Virginia (0.49 percent). Northeastern states still have average taxes up to 10 times higher than elsewhereStates in the Northeast region had seven of the 10 highest average property taxes in the U.S. in 2023. They were led by New Jersey, where the average single-family-home property tax of $9,488 in 2023 was almost 10 times the average of $989 in West Virginia, which had the nation’s smallest average levy. Others states in the top five last year were Connecticut ($8,022), New York ($7,936), Massachusetts ($7,414) and New Hampshire ($7,172). The 10 states with the lowest average tax in 2023 were all in the South. Aside from West Virginia, the lowest were Alabama ($1,104), Arkansas ($1,296), Mississippi ($1,367) and Louisiana ($1,418). Highest metro-area effective rates concentrated in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and TexasAmong 223 metropolitan statistical areas around the country with a population of at least 200,000 in 2023, 15 of the 25 highest effective tax rates were in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Metro areas with the highest effective property tax rates in 2023 were Akron, OH (2.71 percent); Rockford, IL (2.41 percent); Champaign, IL (1.95 percent); Trenton, NJ (1.94 percent) and Peoria, IL (1.91 percent). The highest effective rates among metro areas with a population of at least 1 million in 2023 were in Chicago, IL (1.84 percent); Rochester, NY (1.77 percent); Hartford, CT (1.76 percent); Cleveland, OH (1.66 percent) and Columbus, OH (1.45 percent). The lowest effective rates in 2023 were in Daphne-Fairhope, AL (0.27 percent); Salisbury, MD (0.30 percent); Honolulu, HI (0.31 percent); Knoxville, TN (0.32 percent) and Tuscaloosa, AL (0.32 percent). Aside from Honolulu, the lowest rates among metro areas with a population of at least 1 million in 2023 were in Phoenix, AZ (0.38 percent); Nashville, TN (0.45 percent); Las Vegas, NV (0.48 percent) and Salt Lake City, UT (0.49 percent). Property taxes increase faster than national average in over half of the U.S.Average property taxes rose by more than the national increase of 4.1 percent last year in 118, or 52.9 percent, of the 223 metro areas analyzed in the report. Metro areas with a population of at least 1 million that had the largest increases in average property taxes from 2022 to 2023 were Charlotte, NC (up 31.5 percent); Indianapolis, IN (up 18.8 percent); Kansas City, MO (up 16.8 percent); Denver, CO (up 15.7 percent) and Atlanta, GA (up 15.2 percent). Major markets with the largest decreases in average property taxes last year included Rochester, NY (down 28.6 percent); Houston, TX (down 26 percent); San Antonio, TX (down 11 percent); Baltimore, MD (down 8.3 percent) and Buffalo, NY (down 3 percent). Average annual property tax tops $10,000 in 21 countiesAmong 1,502 U.S. counties with at least 10,000 single-family homes in 2023, 21 had an average single-family-home property tax of more than $10,000. Of those, 12 were in the New York City metro area. The top five average taxes in counties with at least 100,000 single-family homes were in Essex County, NJ (outside New York City ($13,145); Bergen County, NJ (outside New York City) ($13,112); Nassau County (outside New York City), NY ($13,059); San Mateo County, CA ($13,001) and Santa Clara County (San Jose), CA ($12,462). Media Contact:Megan Huntmegan.hunt@attomdata.com SOURCE ATTOM