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St. Louis County assessors meet with homeowners miffed over higher bills

Property values are on the way up in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County. Officials attribute the increases, in part, to strong housing sales.
Paul Sableman | Flickr
Property values are on the way up in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County. Officials attribute the increases, in part, to strong housing sales.

The St. Louis County Assessor's office has started informal conferences with property owners concerned their taxes are too high.

Property values are on the way up in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County. Officials attribute the increases, in part, to strong housing sales.
Credit Paul Sableman | Flickr
Property values are on the way up in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County. Officials attribute the increases, in part, to strong housing sales.

Assessor Jake Zimmerman says the average county property value has gone up roughly 7 percent, compared to the last review a couple of years ago. He attributes the increase, in part, to a hotter real estate market, with properties selling faster and for more money.  

"Obviously that's not true in every neighborhood and it's not true for every property. But in general and on average, it's easier to sell your house than it used to be and it's easier to get a higher price that it used to be," Zimmerman said.

St. Charles County appears to be experiencing similar growth in property values. St. Charles County Assessor Scott Shipman says the value of properties has increased about 8 percent, compared to 2015.

"Most of it is just the rebound of real estate values in St. Charles County," Shipman told St. Louis Public Radio. "There's a lot more people moving in than there was year's ago. The foreclosures are down. The interest rates are pretty stable and actually there's a shortage of decent homes on the market."

Officials in the city of St. Louis officials are reporting an average increase of roughly 12 percent for residential properties, but it's much higher for some leading to property tax bill increases in the hundreds of dollars.

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Wayne Pratt is a veteran journalist who has made stops at radio stations, wire services and websites throughout North America. He comes to St. Louis Public Radio from Indianapolis, where he was assistant managing editor at Inside Indiana Business. Wayne also launched a local news operation at NPR member station WBAA in West Lafayette, Indiana, and spent time as a correspondent for a network of more than 800 stations. His career has included positions in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Toronto, Ontario and Phoenix, Arizona. Wayne grew up near Ottawa, Ontario and moved to the United States in the mid-90s on a dare. Soon after, he met his wife and has been in the U.S. ever since.
Raack has been in radio for over 20 years. After graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Kansas in 1983, he worked at commercial radio stations in Kansas and then Illinois. He moved to public radio in 1990, joining the staff of WILL-AM/FM in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, as a host/reporter and then as news director in 1993. He returned to his hometown of St. Louis in 1995 as the local host of St. Louis Public Radio's