Determinants of Property Value Growth for Tax Increment Financing Districts

Abstract

Although the majority of empirical research on tax increment financing (TIF) examines municipal-level effects, there are fewer studies looking at TIF effects at a more localized level. This article examines the characteristics of the areas in which TIF districts are located as well as the factors influencing property value growth within TIF districts. In addition to finding that TIF districts, on average, are located in areas that are more economically disadvantaged than the municipality as a whole, the results of this study suggest a positive relationship between blight and subsequent property value growth. The results also show that the spatial size of a TIF district has a positive influence on property value growth and that industrial TIF districts and TIF districts located in low-density areas and in areas with high proportions of White residents and close to the city center have higher growth.