Property values in Winnebago County hit new record high, jump 11% from 2022

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The value of all property across Winnebago County has hit its highest level ever behind a record-breaking real estate market that continues to see home sale prices surge.

It is the second consecutive year that the taxable value of all property reached a record high. This year’s equalized assessed value of more than $6.4 billion is an 11% increase from 2022.

“With the real estate market seeing unprecedented prices, the assessed values are following the trend,” said Tom Hodges, Winnebago County’s supervisor of assessments.

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Property owners have started to receive notice of the new assessed value of their home or business over the past few days. The supervisor of assessment’s office mailed roughly 120,000 notices starting last week, and those values will be published in a local newspaper.

Such notices are required in a general assessment year, which happens every four years when all properties are reviewed by tax assessors.

The assessed value of your home plays a key role in determining how much property taxes you pay, but it’s not the only factor. Another integral role in the equation is how government bodies decide to set their levy, which is the total amount of property taxes they will collect. If taxing bodies hold their levy flat or lower it while values increase, taxpayers can see lower rates. The total bill you pay depends on both your rate and the taxable value of your home.

“As the tax base continues to increase, driven by both new development as well as the recent housing market, many taxing districts throughout Winnebago County have made a concerted effort to hold their levies flat, which in turn has resulted in declining tax rates,” Hodges said.

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The rate most taxpayers in Rockford pay was 11.42% last year, down from a peak of 15.3% in 2015. That rate has steadily declined as values have increased each year since 2015.

“We saw what happened in reverse during the Great Recession,” said Conor Brown, CEO of the NorthWest Illinois Alliance of Realtors. “People were still paying astronomical tax bills with a property that just seemed to fall off a cliff.

“Now that we’ve climbed out of that basement. We’ve seen steady appreciation.”

The three-month rolling average price of a home sold in Boone, Winnebago and Ogle counties was $198,254 in June. That’s nearly $4,7000 higher than the previous record in August 2022.

Property owners who feel assessors overvalued their home or business can challenge their assessment. Most who choose to file such complaints are doing so in an attempt to lower their tax bill. However, they must prove the assessment is wrong by providing sales comparisons.

With home sale prices hitting record highs it could be difficult to find comparisons that allow for a successful challenge. Last year, when sale prices were also climbing, there was a record low number of challenges.

“We’ve never had equalization factors this high before. When you’re sending a notice to every single property owner with a notice your property went up 11.88% ,or whatever it may be, we think there will be a general initial reaction to file a complaint or at least make a phone call to try to get more information,” Hodges said. “However, finding evidence for residential sales that are going to be good comparables might be difficult to find.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas