L.A. County property tax base at $1.1 trillion

Los Angeles County’s property tax base grew to $1.1 trillion, a 6.9% increase over last year, Assessor Rick Auerbach said.

The assessment takes into account 2.7 million residential and commercial properties, including real estate, business equipment, boats and aircraft. This year’s increase exceeded the county’s expectation of 5%.

Auerbach said that Proposition 13 is the main reason for this year’s increase, despite a sliding real estate market. The constitutional amendment, he said, has a stabilizing effect on assessed values.

“In a rising market, because of the 2%-increase cap included in Proposition 13, assessed values do not keep pace with market values,” he said. “On the other hand, in a market such as we now have, the cap keeps us from experiencing a dramatic decrease in assessed value.”

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garrett therolf@latimes.com