“It’s an unprecedented market,” said Anoka County Assessor Alex Guggenberger. “We’re not used to seeing homes selling for 20 to 30 thousand dollars over list price. In general, throughout history, it’s been that the selling price is 5 to 10 percent less than the list price. The new norm is now 20 to 30 thousand over the list price.”
In Centerville, assessor Mary Wells briefed the city council on the situation recently.
“It’s been kind of a wild year, I guess I would call it a wild year in real estate,” Wells said. “It affects our assessments.”
As an example, Wells said what happened with one home sale in Centerville was not unusual. It listed for $290,000 and sold for $325,000.
So do valuation increases like that translate to higher tax bills in 2023?
“No, not necessarily,” said Guggenberger. “Value is just the first step in the process. Once we establish values, the local taxing jurisdictions like cities, townships, and school districts will set their budgets. Those budgets will then be used to work backward and the values are used as an allocation method to make sure everyone’s paying their fair share. So if levies stay relatively flat, taxes will probably stay relatively flat next year, too.”
If you feel your assessment is too high, there are several steps you can take to appeal it. First call the phone number on the valuation notice for an explanation. Most questions can be settled that way. Otherwise, assessors may check home sales in your area and may even come to view the property.
“In general, we’re only adjusting a very small percentage of parcels in the county through this process,” said Guggenberger. ”But there’s always room for change, especially when values are increasing 20 to 30 percent. So we always want to do our due diligence to make sure the value is as accurate as possible.”
Some cities are hearing valuation appeals in April and May. Others use what’s called an open-book system which provides property owners the ability to appeal directly to the county board. Call the telephone number on your statement to find out how it’s handled in your city.
