City of Chicago Reassessment Begins With Significant Assessment Increases in Rogers Park
Every three (3) years, the City of Chicago is reassessed by the Cook County Assessor. When that occurs, the Assessor reviews data from sales transactions within the City proper and looks towards “trends” in the real estate market on a more “macro” level of review. There are eight (8) total Townships within the City which will be reassessed this year. The current Assessor, Fritz Kaegi, has begun this process by releasing the first of these townships, Rogers Park, on June 15, 2021 and both residential and commercial properties’ assessments have increased significantly. City townships that are reassessed in 2021 will see the increases in the property tax bills payable in 2022. In response, the Assessor was quoted as saying, “Despite the pandemic, Chicago’s real estate market is showing strength. In many parts of the City, home values are steady or rising. COVID-19 has had negative impacts on some commercial real estate types, but generally, rents have increased since 2018, driving property values higher”. According to the Assessor’s Office, the average assessment on a single-family residence would rise 16% (average market value increase from $215,990 to $249,970), while the average assessment for commercial/industrial property would increase 54% (an average market value increase from $452,928 to $696,788), and the average assessment on a rental apartment building would experience the most significant increase of 260% (increasing from a market value of $652,130 to a market value of $2,349,140 on average).
After the Assessor’s appeal period concludes, for those who wish to avail themselves of an opportunity to appeal the value set by the Assessor, the Cook County Board of Review (the second of three levels of assessment review) will be able to review and possibly reduce the detrimental effect of these substantial assessment increases with the presentation of proper evidence of value and perhaps some consideration given for those properties which have been adversely effected by the pandemic and other economic forces causing difficulty in operating one’s real estate for profit.
However, if the Assessor and Board of Review are not sympathetic in tempering these aggressive valuation increases, landlords will bear the brunt of passing along some of the burden in the form of higher monthly rents so as not to suffer sizeable reductions in their net incomes, which if not offset, could lead to owners putting off or refraining from making needed repairs to their properties.
Taxpayers have until Monday, July 19, 2021 to challenge their assessment increases by filing tax appeals at the Cook County Assessor. Taxpayers can then challenge their assessments at the Cook County Board of Review later this year if they are dissatisfied with the results of their tax appeals at Assessor Kaegi’s office.
