Renfrew Report… With a 1% per year cap on Property Tax Hikes…who is to blame for these HUGE TAX HIKES driving up the cost of housing?
As an Asset Manager here in King County, I review tax statements across dozens of properties every year. And the increases we’ve seen recently are not small, incremental bumps — they are meaningful jumps that directly impact affordability, rent levels, and investment returns.
Let me break down what’s actually happening.
The 1% Cap Most People Don’t Understand
In King County, regular property tax levies are generally capped at 1% growth per year under Washington State law.
That means:
Cities
Counties
Fire districts
Library districts
Other taxing authorities
…can typically only increase their regular levy collections by 1% per year, plus new construction.
So if that’s the rule, why are your taxes up 6%, 8%, sometimes even more?
Because of one critical exception:
👉 Voter-Approved Levies
When voters approve additional levies, bonds, or “lid lifts,” those are not subject to the 1% cap.
And in recent years, King County voters have approved a number of:
School bonds
School enrichment levies
Transportation levies
Housing levies
Public safety levies
EMS levies
Each one may sound reasonable in isolation. But they stack.
And stacking is exactly what we’re seeing.
The Assessed Value Effect
The other factor is assessed value growth.
When your property’s assessed value rises significantly — which it has across much of King County over the last several years — your share of the total tax burden can increase.
Important clarification:
When values rise countywide, that does not automatically mean the government collects more than the 1% cap. What it does mean is:
If your property appreciated faster than average, your tax bill increases more.
If voters approved new levies, those are layered on top.
So rising assessments + new levies = noticeable tax jumps.
What This Means for Housing Affordability
Here’s the part I say very plainly:
Property taxes are a direct operating expense.
For:
Homeowners
Landlords
Small housing providers
Large multifamily operators
When taxes go up:
Mortgage escrow payments go up
Operating expenses go up
Required rents go up
Housing becomes more expensive
There is no magic cushion absorbing this. It flows straight through the system.
When we talk about housing affordability in King County, we cannot ignore taxation. You cannot repeatedly approve new taxation and expect housing costs to go down.
Those two things move in opposite directions.
The Hard Conversation We Need to Have
I say this respectfully — because I understand why people vote for many of these measures.
They’re often framed as:
“For the children”
“For housing”
“For safety”
“For transportation”
“For equity”
But every levy is funded primarily through property tax.
And property tax is embedded in:
Every rent payment
Every HOA budget
Every mortgage escrow
Every commercial lease
If we genuinely want housing to be more affordable in King County, we need to slow the pace of voter-approved taxation.
The 1% cap exists for a reason.
When we continually override it through ballot measures, we shouldn’t be surprised when tax bills climb well beyond 1% per year.
As an Asset Manager, Here’s What I’m Seeing
From my vantage point at AUM Real Estate:
Insurance is up
Maintenance costs are up
Utility costs are up
Compliance costs are up
Property taxes are up
All of that compounds.
When policymakers say, “Landlords should just absorb it,” they misunderstand the math. Housing is an asset class with margins — not a charity model.
If costs rise, rents follow. It’s arithmetic.
My Position
If you want:
Lower rents
More stable housing costs
Better long-term affordability
Then we need:
Fewer new levies
Greater spending discipline
A serious look at how much we’re asking property owners to carry
You can’t tax housing into affordability.
And as someone who works daily to protect asset performance and housing stability across King County, I believe we need to have a more honest conversation about how taxation impacts the very people we say we want to help.
—
Arron Renfrew
Asset Manager | Renfrew Team
AUM Real Estate
