Assessed property values and home sale prices are on the rise for houses in Clark County, such as these.
If you notice your home’s assessed value is on the rise, you’re not alone. Home values increased on average by about 5 to 10 percent in 2014, according to the Clark County Assessor’s Office.
Notices of assessed property values are winging their way to property owners across Clark County, and values are tracking overall economic recovery in the region, Assessor Peter Van Nortwick said.
For comparison, the median home sale price in December 2014 was $245,600, up about 10 percent from the prior December’s $223,100 median sale price, according to monthly reports from Mike Lamb, veteran broker at Windermere Stellar Vancouver.
“The real estate recovery is continuing and the market is very dynamic,” Van Nortwick said in a county news release.
Lamb said the numbers should come as no surprise to most homeowners.
“It’s all rather predictable,” Lamb said. “I think those numbers are reflecting the general trend.”
And that trend appears to be increasing in 2015. In his May monthly report, Lamb indicates both sales and closing activity in April have surpassed pre-recession levels. The median home sale price in April was $251,300, nearing 2006’s median home sale price of $258,000.
“We are just about back to where the peak was,” Lamb said. “What that means is people have equity again, which is kind of significant.”
Meanwhile, distressed sales — foreclosures and short sales — represented 7 percent of all home sales in 2014, down from 18 percent in 2013 and 27 percent in 2012.
“Fewer people are underwater,” Van Nortwick said.
Value notices will report the assessed market values of properties as of Jan. 1 of this year, and will be a factor in calculating property taxes for 2016. Van Nortwick often reminds taxpayers that just because property values increase, that does not necessarily mean taxes will follow. As the tax base goes up, tax rates decrease, which in some cases could even lead to a smaller property tax bill in 2016.
Property values may be appealed to the Board of Equalization within 60 days of the date on your notice. To appeal your valuation, you must show that there are comparable homes selling in your neighborhood for less than the assessed value of your home.
