Assessed Home Values Decline For Second Straight Year

A $500,000 home in Milton Township is now worth about $471,000, according to Bob Earl the Milton Township Assessor. 

Earl's office just completed the assessment and found a $300 million decline in assessed values throughout all of Milton Township, which includes all of Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, and parts of neighboring communities. 

The 5.8 percent decline is based on sales transactions from 2008, 2009 and 2010, according to Earl. It's the second decline in 40 years for Milton Township.

Earl said this is the "absolute worst" home value assessment he's ever seen in Milton Township, and it may be awhile before residents see a turnaround. 

Because assessed values are based on statistics from three years prior, Earl said things will look brighter before there's an actual increase in home values.

"We will see an uptick in the economy before we see a turnaround in assessed values," said Earl. 

He won't speculate on when that might be, but he did say, if you asked him three years ago, he would have expected a turnaround by now.