Revolutionizing · Modernizing · Simplifying
Revolutionizing · Modernizing · Simplifying
The ballots are counted. Your next property tax bill already did the math.
So here is what actually happened on November 3, and why it matters if you own a house anywhere in the metro. The Denver Metro Association of Realtors put out an election recap on November 6 breaking down the results line by line, and the short version is this: Denver voters said yes to their schools, Douglas County said no to theirs, and a new rail tax sneaked onto the map for 2027. Most people saw the headlines and moved on. The real story is what it does to the number at the bottom of your bill.
Denver Public Schools Ballot Issue 4A passed, and it was not close. About 68% yes, per Axios. It is a mill levy override that raises up to $44 million a year for the district.
Here is the part people miss. That money comes from your house. If you own a median-priced Denver home, you are looking at about $72 more a year. The math works out to
Where does the $44 million go? The biggest chunk, about
And this is not Denver's first rodeo. This is the city's eighth voter-approved mill levy override since 1988, and according to the CGH Law Firm ballot guide, every single one of them is still in effect. None have expired. They stack. So when people ask why their Denver tax bill keeps climbing even in a flat market, that is a big piece of the answer right there.
Drive south and the story flips. Douglas County School District Ballot Issue 5A failed. No new property tax there. If you own in Douglas County, your bill did not move, and on a $700,000 home that is roughly
So homeowners dodged a bill. But here is the thing nobody south of C-470 wants to say out loud. DMAR actually supported 5A, and their reasoning was blunt. A Douglas County teacher can currently make $7,000 to
One more that slipped past a lot of people. The Front Range Passenger Rail District Issue 7A passed. That adds a 0.333% sales and use tax starting in July 2027 for metro-area communities inside the district. Not a property tax, so it does not hit your mortgage escrow. But it hits your receipts. Worth knowing it is coming.
And for the record, Denver voters approved all six local measures on the ballot. The range was wild. A foie gras ban, school funding, and a 20-year Xcel Energy franchise agreement all in the same stack. Denver said yes across the board.
Now here is what I would actually watch, and it is not on any single ballot line.
Based on the preliminary results, Democrats will hold about 49 of 65 seats in the state House and 24 of 35 in the state Senate. Do the math on that and it is a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers.
Why does that matter for a homeowner? Because at that level, the legislature can refer constitutional amendments straight to the ballot with zero minority-party votes. None needed. And the three subjects most likely to ride that power are property taxes, TABOR, and housing. That is the whole ballgame for anyone who owns real estate in this state.
The 2027 legislative session opens January 11. DMAR's Government Affairs Committee is already gearing up, and they are also looking ahead to the spring 2027 municipal elections here in Denver. So the election being over does not mean the property tax conversation is over. It means the next round just got a start date.
Quick gut check if you own here. Denver homeowner, add roughly $72 a year and know it is permanent, like the seven overrides before it. Douglas County, no new tax, but keep an eye on your schools, because that teacher pay gap is a real drag on the thing that moves your home value. Everybody in the rail district, a third of a percent on your purchases starting July 2027.
And then watch January. A supermajority with the power to send tax questions straight to voters is the kind of thing that reshapes a market quietly, one session at a time. If you want help reading what any of it does to your specific block, that is exactly the stuff we track at Symbio Homes. Buckle up for 2027.