Owners of single-family homes will save an average of $87 on their 2006 property taxes under a bill passed yesterday by the City Council.

In an annual adjustment of the property tax rates that was authorized earlier this year by the state Legislature, the council voted to shift some of the burden to the commercial sector from residential owners. State law provides for four classes of properties to share the tax burden, and the council makes small changes in the rates to account for market value changes. The overall property tax rate is holding at an average of 12.3%

Under the bill, the class share increase for a residential property will be capped at 2%, instead of 5%. For single-family homes, that means an average saving of $87. Renters and owners of co-ops and condos will save, on average, between $28 and $94.

The action taken yesterday does not affect city revenues — residential owners across the city will save $127 million, while the tax bill for commercial owners will increase by an equal amount. Lawmakers decided to act in favor of residential owners, they said, because residential market values have increased at a faster rate than commercial properties, pushing the tax bill higher for homeowners. The move is retroactive to July 1.

“This is the greatest benefit we can give in property tax relief under the powers we have from the state Legislature,” the council speaker, Christine Quinn, said yesterday.