12 housing markets where property taxes are surging

Average property taxes in some local housing markets are skyrocketing, which could put a strain on homeowners' ability to make mortgage payments in certain key areas.

On average across the United States, property taxes on a single-family home were up 3% in 2018 at $3,498, according to Attom Data Solutions. But in some metropolitan statistical areas, local average tax amounts have increased as much as 93% in a year.

Property tax spikes may be occurring in some areas because of rising local home prices, according to Todd Teta, chief product officer at Attom. Also, municipalities may have raised tax rates to maintain incoming revenue.

"While many states across the country have imposed caps on how much taxes can go up, which probably contributed to a slower increase in 2018 versus 2017, there are still many factors at play that can contribute to local property tax hikes; and without major changes in the way a community runs public services, tax rates must rise to pay for them," Teta said in a press release.

From Syracuse, N.Y., to Lake Havasu City, Ariz., here's a look at 12 housing markets where local property tax amounts are soaring.

The data, derived from Attom, is ranked by greatest year-over-year gains in average property tax values from 2017 to 2018, with ties broken by largest local tax amount. Attom analyzed property tax values for single-family homes across 219 metropolitan areas.

Year-over-year change in local average property tax: 15%
Average property tax amount: $1,481
Effective tax rate: 0.6%
Average estimated home value: $248,426

Year-over-year change in local average property tax: 16%
Average property tax amount: $1,657
Effective tax rate: 1.01%
Average estimated home value: $164,737