The net value of property in Los Angeles County jumped 5.91% from last year to nearly $2 trillion, according to the county assessor's office.
It's the 13th consecutive year that the overall value of all taxable properties included in the more than 4,000-square-mile county has gone up, according to the Los Angeles County Assessor's 2023 Annual Report. The assessor's office estimates that it will collect $20 billion in property taxes to fund public services such as schools and medical care.
"Most local governments rely on property taxes as a source of revenue to support the provision of local government services," USC Price School of Public Policy professor Eric Heikkila told the Los Angeles Times.
Because of restrictions imposed when Proposition 13 took effect in 1978, property owners will see a standard 2% tax increase unless their properties were reassessed because of new construction or other reasons.
"When property values increase, the same tax rate can yield more revenues for those purposes," said Heikkila, author of the book "The Economics of Planning."
At $819.7 billion, Los Angeles has by far the highest valuation of any city in the county. Coming in second was Long Beach at $74.8 billion, followed by Santa Monica at $49 billion and Beverly Hills at $45 billion.
The only city not to crack the $1 billion mark is Bradbury, a town of less than 1,000 people at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains.
"Our analysis does indicate property value growth at this time, and that's certainly good news for property owners and for local governments," County Assessor Jeff Prang told the LA Times. "However, the real estate market began more robustly in 2022 than it ended, and we will not be surprised if the sluggish market continues into the coming year."
The median listing price for a home in Los Angeles County was $995,000 in October, up 15% over the same time last year, according to Realtor.com. The median sold price was $868,500
