Wednesday, May 30, 2007

County property owners to see rising assessments

Condominium values almost double


By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

It's the end of a five-year cycle, and what that means for some Blaine County property owners is another round of rising tax assessments.

"The residential condominium people are going to get hit pretty hard," said Blaine County Assessor Valdi Pace. "They were out of compliance with the ratio study. It was my only category out of compliance."

The ratio study is a means by which the assessor's office compares existing assessments with market activity. This year, the result of the ratio study means condominiums in Ketchum and Sun Valley will see average assessment increases of 180 percent.

The five-year cycle began in 2002, and many properties experienced dramatically increased assessments when their turns came around. In given years, assessment increases were as high as 200 percent, sometimes more.

In general, following a decade of extraordinary growth and property inflation, property assessments fell behind. From 1997 to 2006, the sum value of properties throughout Blaine County jumped from $3.9 billion to $11.7 billion.

"It was hard to keep up, for one," Pace said. "The whole West is growing. When I was first elected in 1998, we were the fifth highest county in Idaho for value out of 44 counties. Last year we jumped to number two."

Although taxes are determined from assessed property values, they may not increase proportionally, Pace said.

State law sets a 3 percent cap on municipal budget increases. Because the rising values increase the county's taxable base, the levies set by the county, cities, school district, fire districts and ambulance district should go down. In some cases, for properties whose assessments are not raised, the amount of tax paid will go down. Owners of properties whose assessments are raised will in most cases pay higher taxes.

To affect budget blueprints, citizens must attend budget meetings, which are commonly held during summer months.

"It is up to you, the taxpayer, to get involved and be a participant in those budget hearings to make sure your tax dollars are being spent wisely," Pace said.

Once again, Pace pointed out that assessing properties in Idaho is a somewhat inexact science because of the state's non-disclosure regulations. What that means is property sales information is not public, and the information provided to the assessor's office is done so voluntarily.

"The sales information we receive is limited compared to the amount of actual activity that occurs in the marketplace," Pace said. "We once again have limited information in making the decisions when we assess your property."

Pace said it is up to property owners to determine whether they are being treated fairly.

"You, the property owner, should encourage your friends and neighbors to share their sales information with us. As I have stated in the past, the more information we have, the better job we can do in assessing values, thereby creating fairness and equity throughout."

Pace said buyers "consistently" tell her they are told by real estate agents not do disclose to the assessor what they paid for their properties.

She said declining real estate sales in Blaine County in 2006 indicate a soft market but information from the few voluntarily disclosed transactions indicate that prices have not declined. Given Idaho's non-disclosure regulations, it is difficult to surmise why. Whatever the reason, Pace said, local real estate brokers "substantially" influence the market.

"There is a considerable amount of inventory on the market," she said. "Our studies did not prove that sales prices went down in 2006 in all of Blaine County. Some areas are flat, but most areas will not see a major decrease in values for the 2007 assessment drive."

By law, assessment notices are due out by June 4. Pace said they should all be in the mail today, May 30.

Property owners can appeal their assessments through June 25 with the county Board of Equalization, made up of the county commissioners.




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