Archive for December 29th, 2009

This year, more than usual, we are receiving calls from clients who are questioning the tax assessed value of their homes.  As real estate values skyrocketed, the county has not been far behind - raising the assessed value.  However today, after 24 months of deflation in the market, many homes are now assessed above their current market value and it may be appropriate for some homeowners to appeal their taxes. 

The deadline is just 9 days away and if you would like some assistance appealing your assessment, we can help by providing you with recent sold comparable properties to support your argument.  Below are links to everything you will need except for the sold comparable property data.  For this, we welcome you to call our office and speak with one of our Brokers.  We can assemble a list of the most recent sold homes in your area for you to attach to your appeal.  

How to Appeal Your Property Value

Board of Property Tax Appeals 2009–2010 REAL PROPERTY PETITION and Instructions for Filing

Recently, I thought it would be interesting to see just how many “Bank Owned” and “Short Sales” properties are impacting the real estate market in my backyard, west of the Willamette.  Much to my surprise, distressed properties are far more prevalent than I had anticipated. 

This chart represents the number of homes that are either short sales (those homes that homeowners owe more than the present value of the home and cannot make up the shortfall) or bank owned foreclosures in the Realtors Multiple Listing Service (RMLS) that are presently on the market for sale.  As you can see, they add up to being close to 20% of the current inventory and these properties are typically priced well below the competition.  

In many micro- markets around town, if you cast a net around a sampling of 50 homes for sale in a similar price range and area, it would be a common fact that upwards of 10 would be distressed sales.  In a sampling of this size it would not be uncommon either to see only five homes sell per month based on the past year’s averages (a 10 month supply), or in other words, it may take at least 10 months to sell one’s home.  As a result, ordinary homeowners who are hoping to sell are now competing with these distressed properties and it quickly becomes apparent that in order to be competitive, homes must be clean, well maintained, updated, staged, and priced well. 

On the contrary, there are many great opportunities for home buyers and with the rates once again at record lows, we have seen sales increasing.  While it may seem frustrating to see these properties impact the market, the fact is the sooner they are absorbed by new happy homeowners, the sooner we will see the market stabilize and begin appreciating.  If you would like to know what’s going on in your micro market, call one of our brokers today and we can update you hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly with email alerts or reports that will give you the knowledge to make your next move.