Home Values In Essex County Tank After Trump’s Tax Cuts: Report

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — President Donald Trump promised his administration’s 2017 tax reforms would mean a “very substantial tax cut for middle income folks who work so hard.” But according to a recent report, Essex County residents have taken big hits to the value of their homes as a result.

ProPublica and Fortune have released a list of the 30 counties which have seen the largest percentage declines in the values of their homes after the Trump administration enacted its controversial Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Read the full report and learn about its methodology.

Essex County – where homeowners saw an 11.3 percent dip – was right at the top of the list.

Other New Jersey counties that saw major declines include:

• Union, NJ - 11%
• Bergen, NJ - 9.9%
• Passaic, NJ - 9.8%
• Somerset, NJ - 9.8%
• Mercer, NJ - 9.6%
• Hunterdon, NJ - 9.6%
• Gloucester, NJ - 9.5%
• Camden, NJ - 9.2%
• Morris, NJ - 9%
• Hudson, NJ - 9%
• Burlington, NJ - 8.3%
• Sussex, NJ - 8.2%
• Middlesex, NJ - 8%
• Monmouth, NJ - 7.3%
• Warren, NJ - 7.1%

According to the ProPublica/Fortune report, the 2017 tax law capped federal deductions for state and local real estate and income taxes at $10,000 a year and also eliminated some mortgage interest deductions.

Counties with high home prices and high real estate taxes and where homeowners have big mortgages suffered the biggest hits, given the larger value of the lost tax deductions, the report stated.

• See related article: Don't Blame Trump Tax Cuts For Essex County Home Values (Opinion)

U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Democratic Party member who represents the state’s 11th District – including several towns in Essex County – said the report was “more proof that the 2017 tax law hurts New Jersey residents.”

“Homeowners deserve better,” Sherrill said. “I am working with my colleagues to reverse this punitive tax measure.”

• See related article: Rep. Sherrill Takes On Feds, Tries To Revive SALT Workaround
• See related article: IRS Stops NJ's Attempts To Bypass Trump Tax Law

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