Carver: Whether it's the brand-new access deep into the county provided by the new Hwy. 212 or other factors, Carver County officials feel that values are holding fairly steady. "Pockets are seeing decreases," said Angela Johnson, county assessor, "but others are still increasing. Overall, we're pretty stable, with a slight decrease, about 2 percent for residential. That should be a good feeling for people here, that their values are stable."

Dakota: Average residential home values are down about 8 percent across the county, with Farmington and Inver Grove Heights showing the steepest drops: more than 10 percent. That is more than double the drop from last year, when residential property values fell about 3 percent.

Hennepin: The range of change for residential properties in Hennepin is vast. "It's very local from city to city and neighborhood to neighborhood," said Assessor Tom May. For suburbs, the average drop will probably be 5 or 6 percent, but areas plagued by foreclosures may see more. In Minneapolis, more affluent areas near Lake Calhoun saw less than a 1 percent drop, but values in foreclosure-heavy areas such as north Minneapolis went down by about 17 percent.

Ramsey: Drops in value averaged 6.8 percent across the county but varied widely, thanks in part to a mix of urban and suburban living. While Vadnais Heights residents saw their values dip just 2.8 percent on average, the value of properties on the West Side of St. Paul fell about 14.5 percent.

Scott: Residential is down 7.6 percent overall, said Assessor Farley Grunig, varying from 3 percent in New Market to 13 percent in Jordan. The wide variation compared with some counties may partly have to do with "foreclosure pressure in some areas, impacting Jordan, Belle Plaine, and others," he said.

Washington: Early estimates indicate the total tax base dropped 5 to 6 percent, said Kevin Corbid, director of property records and taxpayer services. Multifamily homes, such as townhouses, are losing value faster. "We're seeing it especially where there was a lot of them built very quickly," Corbid said.

Katie Humphrey and David Peterson