Oregon

I cant speak as directly to how Lake O does their property taxes, but I think a big part of it for Portland has to do with timing and perceived value.

I will go out on a limb and guess that you will find the seemingly arbitrarily higher tax homes were generally built more recently, often in the 2000's.

For most of Portland, the property tax did not keep pace with the market on its upswing, they undervalued everything and charged lower taxes than could have been justified by market prices. One of my neighbors places sold for 105k in 2007, and sold for 30k last year. And throughout, its assessed value has been in the mid 40k range.

Or, for a more direct comparison, One of my family members had a home in Lake O. At the height of the market, there were unsolicited offers coming in for over 500k. After the crash, it sold for under 200k. and throughout this, its assessed value had not changed but incrementally (since it was built in the 50's). After they sold it, it was demolished, and the new structure has a completely different assessment value.