Pay attention!

The numbers are staggering!
All you have to do is go to the grocery store to know that the price to buy anything is going up these days, but last week’s report from the assessor’s office was stunning nonetheless. The total valuation for property in Hamilton County came in at $3.81 billion as of Jan. 1, 2024, up a whopping $546 million in a single year.
That’s a significant jump, as a 16.7 percent one-year increase in anything will normally get your attention. When considering how many zeroes are involved with this particular report, it demands a closer look.
To put all this in perspective, it helps to look back at the property valuation history of Hamilton County, which I would venture to guess is not the norm in Nebraska, or rural America for that matter. I’ve noted many, many times in this space that Hamilton County is well ahead of the curve in terms of its progressive growth mindset, and this report confirms that in spades.
In 2022, for example, just two short years ago, we highlighted the fact that the county broke through the $3 billion plateau seven years after topping the $2 billion mark in 2015. Paging further back through the county’s valuation history, 2006 was the year local property values topped $1 billion for the first time ever, which seemed like a very big deal at the time.
It was then, of course, but so too is the rapid pace of valuation growth today. And, for those paying attention to the local landscape, that total is sure to keep soaring in 2025 based on construction plans reported in ANR’s recent “Here We Grow” progress edition. Two new businesses in the Mission Critical Subdivision, massive expansion at the local ethanol plant, as well as new houses in Aurora, Phillips and Hampton will all add significant sums to the “new growth” line item on the county’s annual valuation report, which is always an interesting read.
While economic growth is most certainly a positive trend, there is however a cautionary clause in this report which deserves equal attention. While “new growth” reflects construction projects involving actual physical growth, whether that be grain bins, buildings, houses or that new deck in the back yard, a large portion of this increase is based on rising property sale prices.
It’s a seller’s market, to be sure, whether you are looking to buy a single-family home, a small acreage out in the country on which to build a house, or some prime Hamilton County farm ground. That’s a good thing, as opposed to living in a place where values are plummeting, though some homeowners and farmers are no doubt grumbling about the impact of that soaring sales trend. 
A recent ANR story documented that prime 1A1 irrigated farm land went up from $6,550 to $8,100 per acre in the last year. That’s an increase of 23.66 percent, which is a significant number for producers to factor into their bottom line, especially with the price of corn hovering around $3.75 per bushel.  
How exactly will all the rising values impact your personal property tax bill? That’s the multi-million dollar question every year come tax budget time in the fall, and it will be worth even more in 2024.
Local taxing entities will be publishing their tax valuation public notices this week or in the near future. Taxpayers should pay very close attention, this year more than ever, understanding that a flat levy in 2024 would translate into hefty tax increases based on the county’s record $3.81 billion valuation.
The ANR news staff will be tuned in to those reports, and you should be as well.
-- Kurt Johnson