North Side homeowners “in a tizzy” over soaring property assessments

North Side homeowners are getting sticker shock as the Cook County assessor’s estimates of property values are soaring by a third or more in some places.

The county reassesses properties every three years, and this year is Chicago’s turn.

In some parts of the North Side, the median assessment rose more than 31 percent for houses, townhouses and small rental buildings, and 29 percent for condominiums, according to Crain’s.

Crain’s found some homes where estimated value rose as much as 76 percent since the last reassessment in 2015, including a three-flat on Orchard Street whose value went from $556,000 in 2015 to more than $980,000 this year.

“My clients are in a tizzy,” said Molly Phelan, an attorney who handles property tax cases. She said her firm has dozens of clients whose assessments are double what they were in 2015.

One Uptown homeowner said he saw his two-flat’s assessment rise 51 percent from 2015, from $471,000 to $712,000. He told Crain’s brokers have said he could sell it for a price in the $500,000s to the low $600,000s.

Tom Shaer, spokesman for Berrios, said the increased assessments are a result of rising home values, especially in areas of the North Side that have recovered faster than other parts of the region.

“When home values go up, assessments go up,” Shaer said. [Crain’s] — John O’Brien