Local real estate assessments have ticked up “modestly” over the previous year.

Arlington County said today that property values rose 2.9 percent over 2016. The increase includes a 2.1 percent rise for existing properties and another 0.8 percent rise for new construction, with both residential and commercial properties seeing gains.

The value of the average Arlington home, defined as existing single-family properties like condominiums, townhomes and detached homes, increased 2.3 percent to $617,200, up from $603,500 last year.

Commercial properties, such as office buildings, apartments, hotels and retail, increased 3.4 percent over last year. The increase “was fueled by 1.6 percent growth from new construction across the commercial sectors and by 14.6 percent growth in existing hotels, reflecting the strength of Arlington’s tourism market,” the county said.

The commercial growth wasn’t totally even, however. While existing office property values remained flat, apartment properties increased in value by 1.9 percent. The two represent 82 percent of the commercial tax base, according to the county.

“It is good to see continued strength in both our residential and commercial properties,” County Manager Mark Schwartz said in a statement. “Arlington remains a desirable community in which to live and do business.”

Real estate assessments are scheduled to be mailed to all Arlington property owners tomorrow, Jan. 14. The 2017 assessments will also be posted online and made available at 11:00 p.m. later tonight.

Last year residential assessments rose 2.8 percent while commercial assessments rose 1.3 percent. In 2015, residential property was up 4.9 percent while commercial properties rose only 0.1 percent.

Read the full press release from Arlington County, after the jump.

Arlington County property values showed modest growth again for 2017, with property values growing 2.9 percent over 2016. That increase includes 2.1 percent for existing properties and another 0.8 percent for new construction. Both residential and commercial properties saw modest increases in value. Houses

The value of the average Arlington home (existing single-family properties, including condominiums, townhouse and detached homes), increased 2.3 percent from $603,500 in Calendar Year 2016 to $617,200 in CY 2017.

“It is good to see continued strength in both our residential and commercial properties,” County Manager Mark Schwartz said. “Arlington remains a desirable community in which to live and do business.”

Real estate assessments will be mailed on Saturday, Jan. 14, to all Arlington property owners. CY 2017 assessment information will be available online at on Friday, Jan. 13, at 11 p.m. Look up your property assessment. The 2017 assessment is an estimate of the fair market value as of Jan. 1, 2017.

Commercial properties, including office buildings, apartments, hotels and retail, increased 3.4 percent. The increase was fueled by 1.6 percent growth from new construction across the commercial sectors and by 14.6 percent growth in existing hotels, reflecting the strength of Arlington’s tourism market. Existing office property values remained flat, while existing apartments increased 1.9 percent — these two sectors represent 82 percent of the commercial tax base.

Budget outlook

Arlington, like all local governments in Virginia, relies heavily on revenue generated from real estate property taxes to fund services to residents, tourists and employees of the businesses located here.

As the County develops its Fiscal Year 2018 Budget (the fiscal year runs from July 2017 through June 2018), it faces pressures from Metro and from Arlington Public Schools. As the County continues to experience population growth, particularly along the Metro corridors, and growth in student enrollment, there is increasing demand for existing and new services and for new facilities.

Maintaining the Metro system is critical for the economic health and growth of our community and for Arlington’s environmental sustainability. With the Washington Metropolitan Transportation Authority (WMATA) facing unprecedented budget pressures and maintenance needs, we expect contributions from local jurisdictions to significantly increase in FY 2018, putting more pressure on our budget. Arlington will continue to work closely with WMATA and our jurisdictional partners to resolve WMATA’s budget gap.

The challenge facing the County and Schools as they approach the FY 2018 budget is that revenue is expected to be less than projected expenditures.

The County and Schools will work with the community to make the funding choices needed to balance the competing demands of making strategic investments needed to enhance the County’s economic competitiveness, meet Metro’s needs, address growth in school enrollment and other core services and minimize the burden on County taxpayers.

The County Manager and Superintendent of Schools will present their budgets to the County Board and School Board in late February.

For more information on the budget process, visit the County’s Budget webpage.

About real estate assessments

Real estate assessments are appraisals. They are the County’s opinions of value for each parcel of real property in Arlington. The assessments are made using accepted methods, standards and techniques of the real estate appraisal and assessment profession. For more information, visit the County webpages on real estate assessments.