Something that officials in Buffalo have been planning for a few years has finally happened, and now thousands of homeowners all over New York State's second-largest city are up in arms at the potential impacts of this city's actions.

Back in 2020, the City of Buffalo did something it hadn't done in nearly 20 years: a city-wide property value reassessment. Over the last two decades, home and business values in some city sections have increased exponentially, with some property owners having seen their values increase by 3 or 4 times. That created a huge inequity among property owners in Buffalo, as some were paying too little tax while others were paying too much tax.

Once that property reassessment happened, officials pledged to do more regular assessments, with the next one coming this year in 2024. That assessment has happened, and once again, Buffalo property owners are shocked.

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Since 2020, Buffalo has had one of the hottest housing markets in the nation, with home prices and property values increasing even more than they did over the last twenty years. As a result, homeowners who saw their values increase in the last assessment saw them increase even more.

This exact thing has happened to me as the assessed value of my North Buffalo home has doubled again. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it could signal a potential huge tax increase that I and lots of other Buffalo property owners are ready for.

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These new values don't take effect until the 2025/26 fiscal year when the new city budget is prepared. With Buffalo already needing to increase property taxes due to city coffers not having enough cash, another tax increase is looming for city residents shortly.

You can check the City of Buffalo's Department of Assessment and Taxation website for more information about the reassessment process. New York State also produces a handy guide for property owners to understand assessments. You can check that out here.

If you have gotten a reassessment and don't agree with it, you can fight it, but time is running out. The 2025 assessment information sessions end this month, and the Board of Assessment Review (BAR) meets in January 2025 to hear challenges.

Highlights from 2024-25 City of Buffalo Budget

The 2024-25 City of Buffalo budget took effect on July 1, 2024. The overall value of the budget is pegged at $1,897,022,771

Gallery Credit: Ed Nice

Highlights from 2024-25 New York State Budget

On January 16, 2025, New York Governor Kathy Hochul released the first draft of the 2024-25 state budget. The State Budget, which can be revised by the New York State Legislature, is currently pegged at $233 billion.

Gallery Credit: Ed Nice

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