Value of Wisconsin properties falls 0.8 percent

MADISON, WI (AP) — A new study says the value of Wisconsin’s homes, businesses, farmland and forests fell 0.8 percent last year, or $3.6 billion.

A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report says the value of state property has now fallen for the past five years, the first time that’s happened since World War II.

The report was to be released Thursday by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. It shows that the value of the state’s properties was about $468 billion last year. That’s down from a peak of $514 billion in 2008.

The small decrease since last year may suggest the market has bottomed out and is starting to recover. Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance researcher Dale Knapp predicts a leveling out, with an increase next year.