Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2009

Stanislaus County property assessments lose $3 billion in value

Property taxes will be reduced for nearly 62 percent of Stanislaus County's homeowners this year because house values have plummeted by $3 billion, the county assessor revealed today.

The nearly 8 percent drop in assessed values is the steepest one-year decline on record.

To compensate for the loss, 80,553 homeowners — plus thousands of businesses, farmers and other property owners — will have to pay less property tax this year than last. Many homeowners will save more than $1,000.

For many homeowners, this will be the second year in a row their tax bills have shrunk.

That good news for families is bad news for government budget makers who depend on property tax revenue for all types of public services.

Property taxes are based on a complex assessment formula. This year's assessed value in Stanislaus County fell below $36.9 billion. Compare that with two years ago when the assessment hit a record high of nearly $43 billion.

The biggest value drops are in Patterson, where assessments and property taxes will be reduced for nearly 75 percent of property owners. More than 62 percent of property owners in Newman, Ceres, Waterford and Riverbank will have their taxes lowered.

In Modesto, Hughson and Oakdale, more than 50 percent of property owners will have their taxes reduced.

Turlock property values fared the best in the county, but even there 47.5 percent of property owners will owe less taxes this year.

Individual property owners will get letters from the assessor's office in July revealing their exact assessment. Basic property taxes — not counting money owed for things like school bonds or special districts — is calculated at 1 percent of the assessed value.

"Your assessment is a unique value," Assessor Doug Harms said. "It is established when you purchase your property and in most cases, except for an annual adjustment of no more than 2 percent for inflation, only changes if you construct something new on your property.

"Because of this, your assessed value is almost always lower than the current market value by some degree," Harms said. "However, in a declining market it is possible that the current market value of your property could dip below the assessed value of your property. In these cases, the assessor is required to compare your assessed value with the current market value of your property as of January 1 each year."

If property owners don't agree with the value Harms' staff calculated, they can appeal the assessment.