Arlington County said today that its overall 2014 real estate assessments rose 5.8 percent. The growth was “fueled primarily by strength in the residential market, as well as new construction of commercial properties,” the county said.
The assessments for residential properties — single-family homes, condos and townhouses — rose 5.3 percent, to an average of $552,700.
Commercial property values decreased by 0.1 percent in Calendar Year (CY) 2012, coming in at $30.4 billion. Although multi-family rental properties fall into that category and increased by almost 1 percent, the rest of the commercial property types (office, retail, hotel) declined by 0.5 percent. Commercial properties still account for 49 percent of the county’s tax base.
A county press release suggests the drop in commercial property values is due to impacts from the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) in Crystal City and concerns about federal budget issues. The budget concerns are expected to have an impact for the next few years. While state and federal grant funding remains uncertain, real estate tax revenues represent approximately 56 percent of the county’s total revenues.
Assessor Tommy Rice explains that there were errors in some addresses, and unit numbers were erroneously omitted on some envelopes. Although the postal service managed to get some of the mailings to the correct recipients, not all made it to their destinations. Therefore, second notices with complete addresses were sent to all affected property owners. The actual assessments were not altered.
Blame apparently lies with the software used by the county’s print shop. Arlington will be recovering the costs of the duplicate mailings from the software vendor.
Commercial property experienced significant growth, increasing by 13.5 percent. That puts the commercial tax base at its highest level ever, accounting for 49% of the county’s real estate tax base.
“Our commercial properties are in strong demand, particularly apartment and office buildings,” Arlington County Manager Barbara Donnellan said in a statement. “This is our second year of economic recovery — very good news for our community.”
According to the Sun Gazette, however, county leaders are now deciding whether including the owner’s name in the county’s public real estate assessment database presents privacy concerns.
Over the weekend, the County Board responded to a resident’s complaint about its online property records system by asking county staff to “look into options for redacting the names of property owners” from the search results, according to the paper.
Rhodeside Grill Owners Eying Restaurant on the Pike — The owners of Rhodeside Grill and Ragtime are close to signing a deal to open a restaurant on the ground floor of the Sienna Park apartment building, across from Bob and Edith’s Diner, reports the new Pike Wire blog. [Pike Wire]
Most Board Member Assessments Stay the Same — All Arlington County board members are homeowners. But most bucked the upward trend in residential assessments this year. Of the five county board members, one saw his assessment fall, three saw their assessment stay the same, and one saw her assessment rise dramatically. [Sun Gazette]
The increase is expected to bring in an addition $30 million in tax revenue for the county, which should help to offset this year’s estimated $25 million budget gap. The county budget office was originally expecting an approximately 1 percent increase in property values.
“It certainly… makes it easier for us to balance the budget,” said Michelle Cowan, Director of the Dept. of Management and Finance, who added that stepped-up commercial lending and property sales helped to drive the increase. “We consider ourselves very fortunate.”
Assessments are expected to rise this year as the real estate market improves. The Sun Gazette reports that the average home sale price rose 4.6 percent in 2010.
Property owners who want to challenge their assessments should be able to do so via an online form any time before March 1, although the form does not appear to be online at the moment. More information on real estate assessment appeals is available here.
