Land Lines April 2010
Estimating Home Values in Mexico
We have assessed the reliability of household survey data on homeowner estimates of home value in Mexico and argue that on average the estimates of short-tenure owners tend to be reasonably unbiased and precise.
Property Tax Relief
Property tax relief is a core function of state governments, and it can be made more fair and cost-effective by using a circuit breaker program to stop the property tax from exceeding a taxpayer’s ability to pay by targeting relief to those who need it most.
After “Kelo”
The planning community should not ignore the property rights advocates who have succeeded in changing how the American public thinks about physical and regulatory takings, but it is not clear that state-based Kelo laws have changed public administrative practice.
This issue looks at the importance of home value appraisals in analyzing and instituting effective taxation and planning policies in Mexico; new strategies to implement property tax relief for Americans who need it most; and the public policy outcomes of a famed eminent domain court case in Connecticut.