Understanding property tax rate increases

My property tax rate has pretty much gone up at a rate of 2% over the last decade. Is that what everyone else is seeing?

There was a couple of years during the downturn where it didn?t go up at all. Some people even got downward adjustments

Prop 13 caps the increases at 2% per year.  However, the 2% increase is calculated in parallel (from the price you first paid for the property) to whatever the market price is.  You just pay the lesser of market value or the previous assessment + 2%. 

For example,

2006 - purchased property at $500k, assessed value is $500k
2007 - assessed value is $520k || ($500k + 2% = $510k)
2008 - assessed value is $480k || ($510k + 2% = $520.2k)
2009 - assessed value is $450k || ($520.2k + 2% = $530.6k)
2010 - assessed value is $540k || ($530.6k + 2% = $541.2k)

so in 2010, your property tax can be assessed at $540k.

qwerty said:

There was a couple of years during the downturn where it didn?t go up at all. Some people even got downward adjustments

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In that case, on average the property tax increase should be less than 2% since 2008 (accounting for the downturn).

bitmaster20 said:

qwerty said:

There was a couple of years during the downturn where it didn?t go up at all. Some people even got downward adjustments

Click to expand...

In that case, on average the property tax increase should be less than 2% since 2008 (accounting for the downturn).

Click to expand...

If you have a decrease, it comes back all at once - no 2% cap.

Average should still be less than 2% because it is 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less.