The Missoula Organization of Realtors announced Tuesday, August 18 that it is supporting two local school bonds totaling $158 million. MOR President Mike Nugent says the benefits of school improvements will outweigh the necessary hike in property taxes.

"Technology infrastructure, high speed internet, things like that are just too important to not address," Nugent said. "That being said, we feel very strongly that every time anything comes up that’s going to raise taxes it's something that we need to look more closely at as a community. A lot of people don't realize that taxes go up 5% every year certainly impacts the ability for people to qualify for mortgages."

Online real estate sites like Zillow give Missoula schools high rankings, with most schools earning scores in the 7 to 9 range on a 10 point scale. With Missoula doing comparatively well, Nugent was asked if there was much room for school improvement in the eyes of home buyers.

"I think to say that 'oh they are functioning well right now so lets not invest in going forward' really doesn’t make any sense," Nugent said. "I understand the premise of the question, and I certainly understand the concern of taxes going up and we share it 100%. We feel that if we don't invest in our schools continually, we are going to fall behind. I think right now is a good time to do this."

The increase in property taxes, if both bonds go through, is expected to be a little more than $200 per year for a home of $200,000. Nugent said school quality is a big deal for the real estate market because it is one of the first questions by most prospective home buyers.

 

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