WASHINGTON — Homeowners in Montgomery County should brace themselves for a tax increase: In a vote that signals how the final operating budget will look, the County Council approved a property tax increase that will raise those taxes by 8.7 percent.

And when homes are sold, buyers and sellers will see a jump in the tax they pay. The recordation tax, as it’s known, will increase so that a home valued at $400,000 would see an increase of the recordation tax of $255.

A $600,000 home would see the same tax jump by $805, according to figures provided by the county.

“Nobody likes the idea of increasing taxes of any kind, but our needs are great,” Council President Nancy Floreen said in a statement issued after the vote.

The increase in the recordation tax will go mostly to school construction, a critical need, Floreen said, as school system enrollment keeps rising.

The final vote on the county’s $5.3 billion budget will be held on May 26.