When considering a move from one city to another, or even one state to another, home buyers are wise to check out the differences in property tax rate assessments that will affect their property tax bills, even for a similar valued home. Take the median listing price of homes in the current real estate market of Fresno, CA, the property tax rate is 0.905 percent of a $179,900. single family home with 1,654 square feet. This buyer will find the  first line item: property taxes billed at $1,493. annually, with no more than an additional 2 percent increase per year.
What if a Fresno resident wanted to purchase a home that ranked higher than the current median listing price? This would be a good time to find out what the bi-annual property tax bill was going to be in addition to the higher mortgage payment. The best move that potential home investors could make is to know what they can afford, and budget ahead for it.
The city of Fresno has many zip codes and the property values per square foot are higher in some, lower in others. Fresno, CA, 93741, is more costly for property per-square-foot though the property tax rate is the same in all of Fresno County. For a six-bedroom, four-bathroom, and 4,194 square feet of living space, a single family home in this area of Fresno, will likely have a much larger  than average lot size and the property list price could be as high as $528,000. Instead of a mortgage of $610. monthly, this property owner is looking at roughly $1,838 payments. Knowing that they can afford this, the next step is calculating the property tax payment. The Fresno County tax rate is the same, 0.905 percent, applied to the new home value, the annual property tax bill is $4,525.
How Does Fresno, CA Property Tax Rates Compare with other California Communities?
Just as communities or neighborhoods vary in property listing prices, buyers find cities within the same state will also vary. Normally coastal communities are much higher than the median list price, rural communities are less costly. How much would a home listed at the same  list price as Fresno, of $179,900., but located in Newport Beach cost in property taxes?
The City of Newport Beach is on the Pacific Coast, in Orange County, and one of the loveliest communities in Southern California. Many people know about the mansions of Newport Beach and there’s lots to be said for the luxury lifestyle in that area. Newport Beach residents still pay the same property tax rate as the rest of Orange County, of 0.715 percent. Surprising to many, this tax rate is lower than in Fresno. IN fact, at this property rate, a buyer could pay lesser taxes on a home priced at $179,900 in Newport Beach than in Fresno, CA!
Well, that would be true if the property tax bill was for only the first line property tax costs. It makes sense, however, that all the luxury and municipal amenities that Newport Beach enjoys must be paid for, including all the maintenance and upkeep. Add that to the property bill and cost of living expenses start to reflect the areas’ lifestyle.
The second division of your property bill is the Voter Approved Indebtedness. The variance in this structure of tax billing for different cities is generated mainly because each community in various states elects to support different types of budgetary spending. Beach cities may include leveling or grading the sand on their beaches seasonally, adding clean sand, and to hire additional government employed lifeguards, maybe added costs for their training in CPR and First Aid. To pass these community improvement bonds, the city requires a two-thirds yes vote, but the tax may not affect all homeowners property tax billing.
High Technology focused cities may want to finance upgraded office facilities and parking for electric and hybrid vehicles to encourage new technology start-up businesses to move to their areas. Perhaps with new home construction that includes the cost of building new schools, a city requires a bond for residents to add a tax line item for financing new school buses, bus drivers, and a new library to accommodate a large number of new students moving into the new community.
The third segment of a property owners’ tax bill in the USA, is the Direct/Special Assessments controlled by Proposition 218. These assessments now require a yes vote majority from property owners and each owner votes on the dollar amount. Some city residents obviously pay more property tax than others because of the decisions the city and state government and the resident voters have made over the past decades.
Another interesting city we can compare to Fresno is San Francisco, CA. San Franciscans will pay a rate of 0.683 percent. For a home equally priced at $179,900. they can expect their first line of their property tax bill to be calculated at $1,229. Remember, however, that San Francisco has high municipal expenditures and public responsibilities as Newport beach does. In fact, the famous Silicon Valley is a part of that community. It takes expensive municipal perks to attract business start-ups and electronic corporations into their homes and industrial parks.
How Does the city of Fresno, CA Compare to Other Cities in the Nation?
Let’s take a look at Chicago, IL. This part of the country experienced a devastating financial crisis during the economic downturn of 2009. Big companies that the city depended on for municipal fund income had already begun to leave or go bankrupt. One way cities can try to recoup some losses when Bond Funds still need to be paid is to increase the commercial and residential property tax rates of the remaining sources. The current property tax rate for homes is 2.009Â percent.Residents of the windy city of Chicago now pay $3,614 annually on a home purchased for $179,900. Just a reminder, this is just the first line of a list of municipal charges that residents find on their bi-annual bill.
Fresno looks to be in great shape, property tax-wise, in comparison to other cities.
What’s the Next Step?
Serious research has been done, deep thought about the future budget and purchase location. Now it is time to make the call to Movoto to find your agent. The right agent will hep you take all your data and potential, and turn it into them into the home of your dreams, https://www.movoto.com/agents/meet-an-agent/ or call 888-766-8686.
2 Point Highlight
1) It is important to calculate expected the annual tax rate and divide that amount into two payments per year to plan for residential expenses in addition to the mortgage payment.
2) Sometimes there are unexpected variables that add to the property cost in some cities or make the investment even more appealing in other cities.
