As the State’s Department of Assessments and Taxation released its latest report on the assessment notices, there is some darn bad news for the county’s home owners – their house prices sank 35% in values since the year 2008.
The report can be viewed here.
The percentage drop is the highest among the entire state of Maryland. The other counties that have been hit hard by the drop are Charles, Frederick, Anne Arundel and the Howard county. If this encourages you to buy a home soon, you may consider hiring a real estate attorney to help you with all the required documents.
The new homeowner may cheer the drop in house price due to a related drop in their tax bills, however others may not see a drop in tax values; some even see a rise in their property tax bills.
While Maryland tax assessment notices reflect declines that have occurred over the past three years, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday shows that price declines in most parts of the country are ongoing among the nation’s major metropolitan areas. Six regions hit new annualized lows in October, compared to their September report. Prices are not expected to rebound soon, the Washington Post has reported.
However, the Washington area is one of four that posted year-over-year price gains, at 3.7 percent. Los Angeles (3.3 percent), San Diego (3 percent) and San Francisco (2.2 percent) also gained, the Post has added.
Bob Catlin
Properties in College Park that were just reassessed are those that are north of Edgewood Road (east of Route 1) and north of Cherry Hill Road (west of Route 1).
Residential assessments in this portion of the City fell by about 50%.
Fred
Bob – wouldn’t have anything to do with your rent control law would it?
Jerry Rivers
I think the problem is that Catlin now realizes that its a bad law but since he created it he can’t criticise it now. So now both the city and the landlords have to waste money to fight out this stupid law that isn’t doing anything. Why can’t the gov have some self control and try to do whats good for the people instead of whats good for themselves?
Scooter Conrad
Mr. Catlin; Why is it 50% Lower? My Property assessment is higher, as well as my tax, then it was in Sept. 2009. there has been no lowered costs for either.
Mr. Rivers; What is this law you speak of, is it the rent control that Fred spoke of?
Bob Catlin
The State department of Assessments and Taxation evaluated property values in most of College Park in late 2009. For that large part of the City, property values dropped almost 30 percent from the values which had been last determined in late 2006. The far northern part of the City is on a different three-year cycle, for that part of the City, 2011 property values (based on late 2010 data) were determined to have fallen by about 50 percent from the values calculated in late 2007.
Properties in far northern College Park saw higher assessments last fall because the third year of the late 2007 assessment were being phased in. Property tax bills there will see lower assessments/bills when they get their fall 2011 tax bill.
The state (and most other taxing entities included on the property tax bill) phase in tax increases (due to higher assessments) over a three-year period, but reflect tax reductions due to decreases in assessments in total on the next tax bill.