Catch-up housing values bringing higher taxes

Home owners in Monitor area neighborhoods, like their counterparts throughout St. Paul, will see increases in property values and property taxes in 2025. The Joint Property Tax Advisory Committee, a group of city, Ramsey County and St. Paul Public Schools officials, reviewed the tax trends Sept. 23, 2024.
Local units of government in Minnesota must adopt maximum levies by Sept. 30. After that date levies can be decreased but not increased. St. Paul’s maximum levy is almost $225 million, up $16.4 million or 7.9 percent from the 2024 levy of almost $208.5 million. Council members rejected the idea of an increase to 8.1 percent, with some members noting they want to trim the current levy hike.
Ramsey County’s maximum levy is $395.6 million, up 4.7 percent or almost $18 million from the $378 million levied for 2024.
St. Paul Public Schools approved a 7.9 percent maximum levy increase, of more than $16 million. The district levied more than $204.6 million in 2024 and would levy $220.9 million for 2025.
So, how does this affect home owners? Calculations are done for a citywide typical home, and for homes in each of the city’s 17 planning districts.
But median home values actually vary greatly neighborhood by neighborhood, and even house by house on a block. Values for homes can be affected by recent damage to a home or renovations. Comparable home sales in a neighborhood also play a key role.
Two wild cards factor into the figures. One is that the school levy was lowered slightly after these calculations were made, from just over 8 percent to 7.9. A city referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot will also play a role.
St. Paul’s typical home had a median value of $267,400 for 2024, with $3,848 in property taxes. That value increases to $275,300 for 2025. Taxes are estimated at $4,178 for 2025. That increases $5 in various property tax system shifts and changes, and the levy increases adding to $325. The total is $330.
But that doesn’t consider a potential referendum on the November ballot that focuses on child care. If that passes, that would add an additional $16 to the St. Paul share of the property tax bill, increasing the percentage hike from 8.6 to 9 percent.
In neighborhoods where housing values took a huge hit during the most recent recession, the “catch-up” is causing higher hikes in estimated market values. Local elected officials note that such increases cause the greatest hardships in areas deemed the most affordable.
The city’s North End has the highest median value increase at 5.6 percent, from $207,700 in 2024 to $219,350 for 2025. This typical homeowner paid $2,917 in 2024 in property taxes and would pay $3,191 in 2025, for an increase of 9.4 percent or $274.
The typical Hamline-Midway homeowner will see a 5.2 percent median value increase, from $251,400 in 2024 to $264,450 in 2025. Taxes were $3,636 in 2024 and would be $3,987 in 2025. That would be $351 or 9.7 percent increase.
The median value St. Anthony Park home increases 5 percent, from $377,600 in 2024 to $396,500 in 2025. Taxes were $5,771 in 2024 and would be $6,315 in 2025. That would be a $604 or 10.6 percent increase. That is the second-highest percentage tax increase citywide. Highland has the highest tax increase at 11.1 percent.
For Frogtown, the median home value increased from $207,800 in 2024 to $217,300 for 2025, or 4.6 percent. Taxes for this typical home were at $2,919 for 2024 and would be at $3,155 for 2025 under the maximum levy scenario. That’s a $236 or 8.1 percent increase.
The median home value in Union Park increases 4 percent, from $400,550 in 2024 to $416,600 for 2025. Taxes were $6,090 for 2024 and would be $6,669 for 2025. That’s a $570 or 9.5 percent increase.
In Como, the median value home was at $303,550 for 2024 and increases to $311,900 in 2025, for a 2.8 percent increase. Taxes on this home in 2024 were $4,493 in 2024 and would be $4,823 in 2025, for a $330 or a 2.8 percent increase.
The only neighborhood where home values decreased is downtown, with a modest .8 percent decline.
While single-family home values have continued to increase in St. Paul, the estimated market value of commercial and industrial properties, as well as apartment buildings, dipped slightly between 2024 and 2025.
The increases don’t factor in such issues as fees and charges for city services, which as of now would add about $100 to a typical homeowner’s bills. This doesn’t include what homeowners pay for trash. The 2025 trash rates have not been increased.
Truth in taxation notices, with city, county and school board hearing dates, go out in November.