Chicago property tax assessments are skyrocketing for homeowners, with some seeing increases over 100%.  For the fourteen Cook County townships reviewed, residential property tax assessments increased most in Calumet, a whopping 54.5%.  The townships reviewed include Barrington, Berwyn, Calumet, Hanover, Oak Park, River Forest, Riverside, Rogers Park, Lemont, New Trier, Orland, and Schaumburg.  Six of the fourteen did not have a major reassessment in 2023, including Barrington, Hanover, Norwood Park, Rogers Park, New Trier, and Schaumburg. Townships reassessed in 2023 had value increases of at least 23%, despite a flat housing market in 2022.  However, the 2023 reassessment includes property appreciation that occurred in 2020 and 2021.  The 2023 assessment increases by township include: Calumet (54%), Cicero (41%), Orland (39%), Lemont (37%), Berwyn (37%), Riverside (29%), River Forest (29%), and Oak Park (24%) The total estimated market value of homes in these townships has increased from $20.1 billion in 2020... Read More

Can you assume that the Cook County Assessor’s estimate of market value for your home is accurate and reflects the actual market value?  In many cases, the answer is no.  Some homes are substantially overvalued based on recent sales transactions.  Other homes are substantially undervalued. Please see the tables below.  We provide the address for homes over-valued.  If you know these homeowners, we encourage you to  alert them of the problem Homes Valued Too High or Quite Low? The homes in the first table are overvalued by 32-85% in comparison to sales transactions that occurred within 3 months of the valuation date (January 1, 2023). Unless these homeowners appeal their tax assessment, their property taxes will exceed a reasonable level of taxation. On the other hand, the undervalued homes have market values estimated at 57-68% of market value, based on sales which occurred close to the January 1, 2023, effective... Read More

Cook County’s 2023 reassessment places over 60% of the increases in market value on homeowners with 38% on commercial property. The total assessment for 15 townships reviewed increased from $30.6 billion to $35.9 billion, a 17.3% increase. Home values were increased $3.3 billion (13.8%) while commercial property values were increased by $2.0 billion (30.6%). The townships included Barrington, Berwyn, Calumet, Hanover, Oak Park, River Forest, Riverside, Rogers Park, Lemont, New Trier, Orland and Schaumburg. Following is a summary of total market value by property type for 2020 to 2023: Homes account for 76% of the total market value of taxable property in the 15 noted townships in Cook County, with apartments, office, retail, and hotel accounting for 24%. (Note: these values do not include land.) Property Taxes for Homes Exceed Taxes for Apartments, Office, Retail and Hotel Home property taxes account for 55% of the total property taxes for the... Read More

If you own property in Cook County, you are probably frustrated right now with constantly rising property taxes. At O’Connor, our mission is to enrich property owners through cost effective tax reduction, and we have a couple of recommendations on how you can help lower your property taxes. Our first tip is to appeal your property taxes every year. You don’t have to just accept the assessor’s value. Whether you hire us or file your own protest, this is an important process to help keep your property value from escalating out of control. Another easy practice that may make a significant impact on property taxes for homeowners is to make sure you are receiving your homeowner’s exemption and any of the exemptions for which you may be qualified. We know that government processes can be complicated, so we’ve put together a video walkthrough on how to check your exemption status... Read More

Homeowners considering protesting their property tax appraisal understandably have several questions. But before we answer these questions, it is important to understand how your property value is determined. HOW IS MY TAX BILL CALCULATED? In Texas, property taxes are determined at the county rather than the state level. Two factors impact the taxes:  County tax appraiser will calculate the taxable value of your home by using the market value of similar homes that have recently sold. The term ‘market value’ refers to the amount they feel your home would sell for on the open market, based on the price of comparable homes that have previously sold in the area recently. HOW TO PROTEST PROPERTY TAX IN TEXAS Texas has 254 counties, and each county has its own tax rate. For example, the tax rate in Bexar County is 1.97%, so if your home is assessed at $250,000, you will owe... Read More