Declining property values are beginning to sink in at tax assessors’ offices around the sound.
From the Everett Herald: Slump hits tax value of your home
“I don’t think I can remember a year where we’ve decreased residential values countywide since I started working here in 1987,” county assessor Cindy Portmann said. Her chief residential appraiser, Steve Lightle, said it hasn’t happened in his 35 years with the county.
And from the Tacoma News Tribune: County property values decline
…when the assessor mails notices to the owners of 243,000 residential properties this week, 85 percent will see a decrease.
“It verifies that the market has changed,” said Assessor-Treasurer Ken Madsen.
But don’t get too excited, thinking that this means your actual tax obligation is headed down. Both writers point out:
A drop in assessed value won’t necessarily translate into a smaller property tax bill, warned chief deputy assessor Linda Hjelle.
and
But lower property values won’t necessarily translate to lower tax bills next year.
(Jeff Switzer, Everett Herald, 06.05.2008)
(David Wickert, Tacoma News Tribune, 06.08.2008)