Franklin County has released its 2026 property value update and the average residential property value increased approximately 9%. That is far below the shocking 41% increase many homeowners experienced during the 2023 reappraisal, but let's not pretend this is a small story. A 9% increase on a $200,000 home is $18,000. A 9% increase on a $300,000 home is $27,000. A 9% increase on a $400,000 home is $36,000. The numbers add up quickly.

What Franklin County has not clearly explained is where the biggest increases occurred and which communities are absorbing the largest impact. Did New Albany see the biggest jump? Dublin? Upper Arlington? Bexley? Gahanna? Whitehall? Reynoldsburg? South Linden? The Near East Side? King-Lincoln Bronzeville? The public deserves to know exactly where property values are rising the fastest and who is being affected the most.

This is where the conversation gets uncomfortable. If you own a home free…