According to Peoria County, the value of my house has gone up. But I have friends, relatives, and neighbors whose home values have gone down. According to Supervisor of Assessments Dave Ryan, the County is expecting the equalized assessed value of all property in the County to go down by 1.5%. He doesn’t have a firm figure because there will be many people who will contest their valuations in the next few months, and that will affect the final percentage.

Some people I’ve talked to — even those who have seen their home values rise — feel that the process has been fair and reasonable. Others think it’s ridiculous to think anyone’s home value has gone up given the weak economy and the decline of the housing market starting in late 2006 nationally.

What do you think?