Data on the value of residential property in Oakland County shows another big year for Oakland's older, inner suburbs along Interstate 696. Ferndale and Oak Park saw residential values rise 13 percent over the past year, while tiny Royal Oak Township on the county's south end led Metro Detroit with a 32-percent increase. Lakefront communities also did well. Tom Lyons, who has lived in Sylvan Lake 44 years, once sat on the city's property tax review board. Rapid increases, he said, are nothing new in Oakland's lake country.
People buy a home, tear it down and build a new one or remodel.
That's what's driving the assessments higher. The figures are based on factors such as new property assessments and home-sales data. They don't include the value of new construction, which will push total values higher in fast-growing communities such as Novi. Assessing experts say a big factor in the large percentage increases for older communities is their lower property values. Small changes in dollar value can mean big percentage changes.