Property Taxes Rise as Home Values Fall

With home values nosediving in many areas of the country, why are so many markets facing huge surges in property taxes? Charles Hughes Smith at our sister site, DailyFinance, takes an in-depth look at this seemingly backward phenomenon and explains why this paradox is unsustainable in today's housing market.

Common sense suggests that as home prices decline, the property taxes based on their valuations ought to as well. But even as house prices continue to slip, property taxes nationally are clicking higher.

Why is this occurring? There are several factors at work.