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You also need to remember that the assessed value of a home often lags the market because the valuations are not re-calculated until the beginning of the next calender year. So if the market value of local properties are declining, it is not unusual to see the assessed value being higher. Likewise if values are heading up it could be just the opposite.
While practicing Real Estate I have seen some of the strangest things when it comes to assessed home values. Believe it or not I have seen some homes that are as much as a couple hundred thousand over or under assessed in comparison to their sales price.
I have seen two homes built by the same builder side by side where home “A” was larger and had a bigger lot than home “B” yet home “B” was charged more in taxes due to a higher assessed value. This should never happen but it does!
Home that have re-sold more recently will usually have a more accurate correlation of their market value vs assessed value than a home that has not sold in a long time. For example, a home that sold a couple years ago usually will have a stronger correlation than a home sold fifteen years ago.
Another example of how assessments can become slightly skewed is the home owner who feels they are being over assessed by the town, files a challenge, and wins an abatement. Their assessed value is now changed to the lower value. Does every other home owner who has a similar property get a notice in the mail saying their properties assessed value will also be coming down courtesy of the research done by Mr. Smith who lives down the street? If life were only that grand! This is the perfect example of the squeaky wheel getting the grease. TY Bart Fey