Charlottesville Real Estate Blog

Could the Albemarle County Budget Shortfall Mean Higher Property Taxes?

As you know, the 2008 Albemarle County property tax assessments are out and overall, the word from the county’s assessor’s office is that residential property values in Albemarle County dropped slightly by 2.5 percent, and in rural areas property values dropped 0.5 percent as a result of the recent reassessment. On January 29th, NBC 29 News quoted Albemarle County tax assessor Bruce Woodzell in their report. Woodzell stated “We saw a trend where land is still holding its value and the reduction we saw in the residential market was coming more from what we felt like was devoted to the buildings.”

Albemarle County Depends on New Construction Growth for Revenue

Because new residential construction lagged in the Albemarle/Charlottesville real estate market in 2007, a county revenue shortfall is now a reality. For many county governments, the easiest way to make up the shortfall is to raise property taxes to sustain county services and school budgets. Local school officials are now scrambling to makeup an estimated $2 million budget shortfall. Stay tuned to hear how this all plays out.

Charlottesville Assessed Property Values Increased Slightly

In Charlottesville, the average assessment of existing houses increased by 4.2 percent. Obviously this is a significant decrease in Charlottesville property values when compared with the 16.2 percent increase the market experienced in 2006.

If you happen to be one of the Charlottesville homeowners who saw your property value increase dramatically and feel it is not warranted, leave a comment. There is an appeals process that may offer you a remedy.

Stay tuned for future property tax updates,

Brian

P.S. Subscribe today to our Good Neighbor Newsletter. Each issue is filled with fun facts and common sense information you can use in your daily life here in Cville.

Share This

Some Charlottesville home buyers are relocating from areas where real estate taxes are very high while others are coming to the Charlottesville Albemarle County area from localities where real estate taxes are relatively low. The good news is that the real estate tax rates for the counties of Central Virginia (including Albemarle, Nelson, Orange, Fluvanna, Green, Louisa, Madison) along with the City of Charlottesville are relatively modest. And, in recent years, there has been a great deal of pressure from homeowners to lower the rates to offset significant increases in property values and assessments. Every year, county boards prepare a budget and establish their real estate tax rate for the coming year. Sometimes the rate changes, sometimes not.

Taking the Mystery Out of Charlottesville Real Estate Tax Values

In just about every MLS system there is a data field for entering the current real estate taxes for a property. The Charlottesville Virginia MLS is no different and in fact, it is a required entry. So, you may be wondering why I always enter zero for the Charlottesville Albemarle properties that I list for sale. The reason: The current assessment (and hence the current taxes) on the property may not be a good representation of what the buyer’s assessment will be after purchasing. In most of our Central Virginia counties and especially in Charlottesville and Albemarle, property assessments for real estate tax purposes are revised every year with an effort to reflect current fair market value in the assessment. But, the longer a property has been out of the market (been owned and lived in by the same people), the greater the disparity between the assessment and market value. This has been especially true in recent years when Charlottesville real estate values have shown dramatic increases. So, what I always counsel my clients to do is to budget for the current tax rate at the purchase price for the property they are buying. This seems to me like the best way to prepare my clients for the kind of real estate tax bill they will actually end up with after closing.

Valuable Charlottesville Real Estate Property Tax Consultation

Tax rates and assessments are a moving target. Plan for an assessment that is at or near your purchase price. And, if you want to know the current real estate tax rate for Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Nelson County, or any of the counties of Central Virginia, visit my County Tax Rates page and let me know the county(s) where you think you may be buying. If you have a question about calculating your Charlottesville real estate taxes, leave a comment by clicking on the “Comments link” below.

Until my next post,

Brian
Your Charlottesville Real Estate Resource

Share This