L.A. County property tax rolls decline for first time in 13 years

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The other shoe has dropped. The property value hits to home owners has now dragged Los Angeles County tax collections into negative territory. After enjoying average annual growth in property tax rolls of 7% since 1996, declining home value assessments have brought L.A. County tax rolls down by about 1% from a year ago. The full Times story on property values is here.

The biggest property value declines -- roughly 15% -- were in Lancaster and Palmdale. As the Times reported earlier, some neighborhoods in those cities now have homes selling at nominal prices below 1989 levels. Yes, 1989-1990 was a bubble period, as some have pointed out, but it’s still remarkable for prices to sink below levels of 20 years ago, without even adjusting for inflation. It’s happened in relatively few areas.

L.A. County property value declines in La Puente, Hawaiian Gardens and Norwalk, the most severe outside the Antelope Valley, were in the 7% to 8% range.

-- Peter Y. Hong