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Retiree urges tax changes to ease downsizing; council members point to state law and housing shortage
Summary
A retired Dearborn resident told council that property-tax rules discourage seniors from downsizing. City officials said limits on property-tax assessments are set by state law and that increasing housing supply is the main way to ease costs for buyers and sellers.
Eric Knight, a lifelong Dearborn resident and recent retiree, told the council Sept. 9 that selling a large family home and buying a smaller house would raise his property tax bill even if the purchase price were lower. Knight said his current taxes are about $4,000 and that selling a $500,000 house and buying a $300,000 house could raise his tax bill to roughly $7,000 under current assessment rules.
Council President Joseph Cerini and other council members explained that state law limits how property taxes are assessed after a sale. "It's the state law right now at this time," Cerini said, noting the constitutional and legislative framework that governs assessment caps and transfers.
Council members and the mayor discussed the broader housing market drivers that affect tax bills: rising home values since 2020 and a limited housing supply in Dearborn. The mayor said increasing housing development is the primary tool to help stabilize prices over time. "Since COVID, home values in Dearborn have gone up 60 percent," he said, and added that growing housing supply is necessary to moderate prices.
No council action or ordinance was proposed at the meeting. Council members said the issue is controlled at the state level and encouraged residents to pursue state-level remedies while the city pursues policies to expand housing supply.
