Makes me wonder if Prop 13 helps housing prices to rise in California. People stay put longer, fewer homes on the market.
Studies have shown this exact thing happens.
Also ITT: I want high property value when I sell but low when I pay taxes. Which is it?
I do not follow such things closely, or at all, but I found it interesting what comes up with a simple Google search on "proposition 13 and house prices".
There is a lot more there, that I have not included here.
But at the top were fairly recent articles from the San Diego newspaper about possible revisions to Proposition 13, intended to increase turnover -- by allowing some kind of rollover basis for property tax purposes, so people can sell their house and move but not give up all the benefits of Proposition 13 -- modeled (IIRC) on special rules currently in place for people 55 and older. One is a Q&A about whether this specific proposal will result in higher prices. A name I recognized is local university economist James Hamilton, who has long had his own economics blog.
I was mostly interested, though, that there are recent discussions in the news (via that google search) about Prop 13 and twojman's and mtown's and argent's point -- that is, whether/that Prop 13 itself causes higher prices. But I have not linked those discussions here.
Below are links to the articles about the proposed revisions to Prop 13, and one to James Hamilton's blog:
Article about the proposal (7-13-17):
Prop. 13 property tax reform could boost housing affordability, experts say
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/growth-development/sd-fi-prop13-story.html
With housing inventories at a historic low, real estate leaders are proposing to amend Proposition 13 to give homeowners a tax break when they sell and thus generate more supply and reduce pressure on prices.
The change would apply to the 1978 tax-reduction measure and appear on the November 2018 if the Legislature agrees or via a ballot initiative that the California Association of Realtors is considering. ...
Subsequent article with the Q&A (7-21-17):
Will Prop. 13 changes make home prices go up?
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/economy/sd-fi-econometer-prop13-htmlstory.html
Econbrowser (James Hamilton's) blog:
http://econbrowser.com/