[seanmcdirmid]

> This still encourages these states to drive up property values because it tempts you into cashing out via selling. Every state with this sort of cap also immediately reassesses real estate to the price it sells at the following year. A high property value versus the tax assessment is just a deferred revenue stream, so it's a driver to encourage consistent turnover in the market. The only real way to do that is to constantly drive prices up, which drives the cost of living up, which turns over the residents faster.

Many states (like WA) are on the budget system for property taxes: your assessed value effects your share of the taxes, but the overall property tax take is fixed. So if the property market booms or crashes, the amount collected is still the same. Playing around with freezing/capping assessments will only change how the tax burden is distributed (well, if it freezes for everyone then nothing really changes).

WA also pools property tax revenue for schools, which means richer western Washington districts subsidize poorer easter Washington districts. People still move around to be in the better school districts, however, since the advantages of those schools go beyond funding.