Real estate will trigger the next leg down

No more gov't stimulus to hide the ugly truth. Local governments that depend on property taxes are in a world of hurt.

Property values keep falling. And a bottom is apparently nowhere in sight.

DeKalb County, Georgia is just one example. WSB TV had this story last week:

"Property values in DeKalb County are falling even faster than previously believed. New statistics delivered to county commissioners show the tax digest fell by a whopping 13.4 percent, almost 2 percent higher than originally estimated just last week." 

DeKalb seems a little slow in figuring out it has simply run out of road after years of barreling forward by spending beyond its means using an artificially inflated housing bubble digest. 

And raising taxes now to cover the gap would compound the error. County officials need to look at how much DeKalb real estate is vacant and abandoned. Nobody wants it.

Jacking up taxes on the remaining property owners will simply send another chill through the local market.