If you live in Greensboro, then you live in Guilford County, so you of course pay the taxman for each of those location rights and, now that the city manager and the county manager have put their proposed budgets out there for everyone to see, it’s not looking good for Greensboro homeowners.

First, gas is over $4 a gallon, food prices are way high, and the economy is ruthless on the lower classes right now. Second, data collected by Greensboro tax accountant George Hartzman shows two trends that also pile onto those who own less valuable houses in the city: the tax burden under the proposed revaluations appears to shift much of the burden from commercial real estate to housing and, it’s the lowest-priced houses on average that have appreciated the most in value.

So even if both Greensboro and Guilford County held the tax rates revenue neutral – which isn’t going to happen – it would be those with the least, people who own low-cost homes, who’ll have to bear more of the tax burden.

And if the City Council and county commissioners give the managers what they want – well, some Greensboro residents are going to have to make some very tough financial choices.

Guilford County is proposing to lower its property tax rate from 73.05 cents to 61.9 cents per $100 of assessed value, while Greensboro’s proposed rate would drop from 67.25 cents to 58.3 cents.

But numbers obtained through a public records request by Hartzman tell a much more complicated story – especially for homeowners in lower-priced neighborhoods.

That data suggests that many homeowners will still see substantially higher overall tax bills despite the lower rates. And perhaps even more significantly, the biggest percentage increases appear to be concentrated among lower-valued residential properties.

According to the figures compiled from county data, residential property values overall increased far more than commercial property values.

Residential properties saw median increases of 59.7 percent, while commercial properties increased just 22.7 percent.

That means homeowners will be absorbing a larger share of the property tax burden than businesses.

And within the residential market itself, lower-priced homes are getting hit the hardest.

The data shows that homes valued under $150,000 experienced median increases of more than 86 percent. Homes in the $150,000 to $225,000 range increased nearly 75 percent.

Meanwhile, the percentage increases become progressively smaller as property values rise. Homes valued above $2.5 million reportedly increased about 44 percent – still a major increase, but far below what many lower-priced homeowners are facing.

Those rising assessments translate directly into higher tax bills even with lower tax rates.

The estimates included in the records request show the combined annual impact of Greensboro and Guilford County property taxes, plus utility and fee increases, could rise by:

  • about $941 annually for a $100,000 home
  • about $1,700 for a roughly $175,000 home
  • about $2,582 for a $300,000 home
  • more than $4,000 for a $500,000 home

Those estimates also factor in proposed water and sewer increases along with higher solid waste fees.

The monthly increase estimates are eye-opening – ranging from roughly $78 per month for a $100,000 property to nearly $900 per month for multimillion-dollar homes.

Still, the most politically sensitive issue might not be the size of the increases themselves but where they’re concentrated.

So why are lower-priced homes rising faster than expensive ones?

One reason is that many lower-cost neighborhoods were undervalued for years compared to today’s housing market. During the post-pandemic housing surge, demand for affordable homes exploded as buyers searched for anything within reach financially.

In many cases, modest homes appreciated rapidly because there simply weren’t enough entry-level houses available.

At the same time, wealthier homes often had less room to rise percentage-wise because they were already highly valued to begin with.

For example, a $100,000 house increasing to $180,000 represents an 80 percent increase. A $2 million home rising to $2.5 million is still a huge jump in dollar terms, but percentage-wise it’s only 25 percent.

Housing supply shortages, investor purchases, rising rents and migration into Guilford County also likely pushed demand especially hard in historically affordable neighborhoods.

That creates a difficult political reality: If lower-priced neighborhoods are seeing the biggest assessment jumps, then many of the people least able to absorb major increases may be the ones being hit hardest. That includes retirees on fixed incomes, longtime homeowners in older neighborhoods, and working-class residents whose homes may have surged in value on paper – even though their incomes haven’t risen at nearly the same pace.

But the numbers also raise broader questions about affordability in Guilford County as rising assessments combine with higher insurance costs, utility bills, food prices and other inflationary pressures.

The issue is particularly sensitive because many homeowners in older neighborhoods may have no intention of selling their homes. A rapidly rising valuation may make them wealthier on paper while simultaneously making it more expensive to stay where they are.

With the economy already squeezing many working-class and retired residents, the shift in the tax burden from commercial property to housing could hit some of Greensboro’s least affluent neighborhoods especially hard. And because many of the biggest percentage increases are occurring in lower-priced homes, some of the residents least able to absorb higher costs may wind up bearing more of the burden.

For those who want to see a complete breakdown of the numbers put together by Hartzman, they can check them out here: https://www.publicintegrity.watch/

About