Kane County Reporter

It’s been 20 years since car salesman Steve Stanley and his wife, Joan, bought a half acre lot and built a four bedroom custom home at 3402 Green Pastures Road in Spring Acres Hills, a then-brand new subdivision on the west side of Carpentersville.

They’ve been trying to sell it for going on five years.

They originally wanted $699,900-- back in 2012.

On Feb. 23, they lowered their asking price-- for the fourteenth time-- to $575,000.

All the while, their property taxes have kept rising. They’re now at $18,880 per year-- up from $17,115 when the Stanleys first put their home up for sale.

So far, they’ve paid $90,720 in property taxes just while trying to sell their home.

Since 2002, or as far back as the Kane County Treasurer publishes publicly, the Stanleys have paid a total of $225,117 in property taxes.

Back then, 14 years ago, their tax bill was $12,219, a whopping 54 percent lower than today.

But their home value, according to the Kane County assessor, was actually higher by seven percent.

Kane County taxes rise, while home values fall

An analysis of home sales and property tax rates in 16 Kane County communities by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes the Kane County Reporter, found inflation-adjusted (real) home values have been steadily falling-- and effective property tax rates steadily rising-- in every one of them.

From 2005 to 2015, Carpentersville fared among the worst, seeing median home values fall 40 percent from $196,613 to $119,000. Housing markets in Elgin (down 40 percent), East Dundee (36 percent), Aurora (36 percent), West Dundee (35 percent), Montgomery (35 percent) and South Elgin (35 percent) were worse or nearly as bad.

The culprit: soaring property taxes, which have smothered home appreciation in a county that was known for growth.

In Carpentersville, the effective property tax rate was 4.17 percent in 2015, according to a Chicago Tribune report. That means a bill of $8,340 on a $200,000 home.

A 1999 Chicago Tribune story on Carpentersville’s growth said property taxes on a $200,000 home “run about $4,500 per year.”

There are currently 89 homes for sale in Carpentersville and 155 homes in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure, according to Zillow.com.

Effective property tax rates are even worse in Elgin (4.18 percent) and Aurora (4.50 percent), among the highest tax rates in all of the U.S.

For example, a five-bedroom home in Aurora’s Harbor Springs community sold Mar. 22 for $260,000; its tax bill is $9,053.

In Aurora, Colo., the tax bill on a home that sold Mar. 31 for the same price: $840.

Illinois’s median effective property tax rate is 2.13 percent, which is more than twice the national average (0.9 percent) and the rate in Indiana (0.88 percent). There, that same $200,000 home garners a $1,760 property tax bill.

Enrollment up 15 percent, spending up 49 percent

Kane County city and village governments have been big spenders. But the county’s once fast growing school systems are the biggest of all. When property tax bills rise, they bear the most responsibility.

Community Unit School District 300, which includes Spring Acres Hills, saw its enrollment rise by 15 percent from 2005 to 2015. But its local property tax spending rose faster-- by 49 percent, from $125 million to $190 million per year, in inflation-adjusted dollars.

In Geneva Community Unit School District 304, local property tax spending jumped 35 percent from 2005 to 2015; enrollment rose six percent over the same period.

In St. Charles Community Unit School District 303, enrollment fell two percent between 2005 and 2015. But local spending rose 29 percent in real dollars.

Batavia Unit School District 101 hiked local tax spending 46 percent; enrollment was flat over the period.

Collectively, Kane County’s nine school districts spent $1.072 billion in 2015, up 28 percent from 2005. Enrollment rose eight percent over the same period.

2023 projection

The LGIS analysis forecast what Kane County property values-- and property taxes-- would be in 2023, if the next eight years prove like the last eight.

Faring the worst: Aurora and Elgin, which have more than $1 billion in debt between them weighing on their home equity.

Aurora homeowners saw home prices fall 35.8 percent from 2007 to 2015, from a peak of $227,477. In 2023, LGIS projects the median home price there will be $107,116, and the median homeowner will have paid $105,120 in property taxes over the preceding 16 years (from 2005 to 2023), or 98.1 percent of their home’s current value.

In Elgin, median prices have fallen faster-- 40.1 percent, from a peak of $253,768 to $152,000. Median prices there will fall to $101,658  in 2023, according to LGIS. The median homeowner will have paid $101,658  in taxes-- 97.7 percent of their home’s current value.

All home values are inflation-adjusted.

Of the16 Kane County communities analyzed, LGIS reports that homeowners in all 16 will have paid more than 50 percent of their home’s value in property taxes by 2023.

Three Kane County communities will have a median home price over $200,000 that year-- Campton Hills ($301,002), Geneva ($265,258) and Batavia ($215,846(.

In 2007, only Carpentersville had a median sale price below $200,000 ($196,613);

Kane County Median Home Price, 2007 to 2015

Rank	Community	Jan 2007	Jan 2015	CHG
1	Elgin	$253,768	$152,000	-40.1%
2	Carpentersville	$196,613	$119,000	-39.5%
3	East Dundee	$259,484	$166,000	-36.0%
4	Aurora	$227,477	$146,000	-35.8%
5	West Dundee	$358,933	$232,000	-35.4%
6	Montgomery	$234,336	$153,000	-34.7%
7	South Elgin	$276,630	$181,000	-34.6%
8	Maple Park	$267,485	$180,000	-32.7%
9	Campton Hills	$565,835	$386,000	-31.8%
10	North Aurora	$284,632	$198,000	-30.4%
11	Sugar Grove	$354,361	$247,000	-30.3%
12	Gilberts	$345,216	$242,000	-29.9%
13	Hampshire	$291,491	$206,000	-29.3%
14	St. Charles	$340,644	$242,000	-29.0%
15	Batavia	$349,789	$257,000	-26.5%
16	Geneva	$403,514	$306,000	-24.2%

2007 numbers inflation-adjusted; Source: Zillow

Kane County 2023 Projected Median Sale Price and Property Taxes Paid

Rank	Community	2023 Projected Median Sale	Prop Taxes Paid 2007-2023	Taxes Paid %
1	Aurora	$107,116	$105,120	98.1%
2	Elgin	$104,072	$101,658	97.7%
3	Carpentersville	$82,331	$79,397	96.4%
4	Montgomery	$114,190	$103,061	90.3%
5	East Dundee	$121,392	$100,397	82.7%
6	West Dundee	$171,414	$140,314	81.9%
7	Maple Park	$138,462	$108,288	78.2%
8	North Aurora	$157,446	$115,949	73.6%
9	Sugar Grove	$196,803	$144,248	73.3%
10	South Elgin	$135,376	$98,174	72.5%
11	Hampshire	$166,416	$112,064	67.3%
12	Gilberts	$193,921	$125,453	64.7%
13	Batavia	$215,846	$138,163	64.0%
14	St. Charles	$196,523	$122,742	62.5%
15	Geneva	$265,258	$156,672	59.1%
16	Campton Hills	$301,002	$167,370	55.6%

Sources: Zillow; Chicago Tribune

Kane County Local School Spending, 1997 - 2015

Rank	School District	1997 Spend	2015 Spend	CHG
1	Kaneland CUSD 302 (Maple Park)	$17,921,389	$55,059,815	207.2%
2	Central CUSD 301 (Burlington)	$16,130,955	$47,095,089	192.0%
3	Geneva CUSD 304	$32,908,653	$86,483,112	162.0%
4	Algonquin CUSD 300	$79,185,042	$190,858,995	141.0%
5	Batavia USD 101	$33,289,001	$77,126,413	131.7%
6	St Charles CUSD 303	$81,778,484	$169,552,052	107.3%
7	Aurora West USD 129	$54,666,022	$90,985,185	66.4%
8	Aurora East USD 131	$31,451,547	$45,485,753	44.6%
9	Elgin SD U-46	$219,791,397	$310,181,880	41.1%
	Total	$567,122,491	$1,072,828,294	179%

Source: Illinois State Board of Education; All historical numbers inflation-adjusted.