Perhaps the only upside to declining home prices is that our property taxes might go down. And then only to the owners, as lower taxes would mean county governments would take a revenue hit.

Snohomish County, at least, has dropped the assessments on home values by 2 percent this year. The 2008 assessments are used to determine taxes paid in 2009, and the lower assessed values may not lead to lower tax bills -- that will depend on whether local voters approve new bonds and levies, according to the Assessor's Office.

Still, the drop is essentially unprecedented, Assessor Cindy Portman told The Herald in Everett. "I don't think I can remember a year where we've decreased residential values countywide since I started working here in 1987."

Meanwhile, the average drop in property assessments in Pierce and Kitsap counties was 1.3 percent and 4 percent, respectively. By contrast, assessments are up in King County -- between 6 percent and 13 percent.