JD Busch:

According to Chicago Contrarian, a property currently paying $25,000 in annual property tax (common for properties worth $750K-$1.25MM) will fork over an additional $4,685 annually based on the proposed 18.75% tax hike.

And while the real estate market hasn’t yet processed this latest curveball (it’ll take a few months for closed transactions to reveal the impact), October downtown condo transactions suggest the market is already in a steep nosedive. This move could only sharpen that trajectory.

The old trader’s adage “don’t try to catch a falling knife” seems to be the guiding principle for today’s Chicago buyers. Even though single-family homes in the under $2MM range are holding steady in many neighborhoods, due in part to limited supply and post-Covid building costs, condos in the Gold Coast, Streeterville, and Near North areas are proving that real estate doesn’t always go up, especially when property taxes are on a bender.

“I took a loss on my last investment, but I got out just in time before rising property taxes, which were already killing me,” a former Chicago real estate investor noted. He pointed us to recent closed deals that suggest the condo market was already in trouble, even before “Mayor Johnson’s new property price death sentence.”

Madison’s latest k-12 superintendent:

“It’s frustrating to have two budgets and to have them dependent on a referendum and to have both of them still be a structural deficit.” 

—- and —-

If the operations referendum fails, average Madison homeowners would see a nearly $280 decrease on their property tax bills.

Notes and links on the Fall $600,000,000+ 2024 referendum, here.

Madison taxpayers have long supported far above average K – 12 spending.

Incumbrances [definition]

City of Madison (property, sales taxes & various fees): Assessor Short term rental regulations Ordinances Zoning Water Utility Streets (trash & recycling) Diggers hotline Wheel tax


Madison School District (property taxes & fees)

Madison College (property tax)

Dane County (property, sales taxes & fees) Parcels Register of Deeds Ordinances public health Dane county Madison


State of Wisconsin (income, sales taxes & fees) Statutes State Parcel Map Department of Natural Resources Department of Revenue Real Estate Transfer Tax


United States Government (income taxes & fees): Laws & Regulations debt clock