Eau Claire Real Estate Gets Average of 13% Assessment Increase
When my 2007 property assessment notice came in the mail last fall, I was surprised to find that the new assessed value of my house had jumped 20.2%! Perhaps it has something to do with that oversize, 2 story garage…
Apparently my 20% increase was larger than average. According to the letter of explanation accompanying the assessment, properties in Eau Claire were revalued at 13% higher than the last time they were assessed in 2004.
I do agree with the assessor that many properties in the city were valued at less than fair market value. Properties hardly ever sold for less than the assessed value in the last year or so unless there was something drastically wrong with the house. That will not be the case for the next year or so. I think we will begin to see many homes selling for less than the assessed value.
How Will the New Assessment Affect Taxes?
Good question. The assessors use this cryptic explanation:
The purpose of a reassessment is not to increase individual taxes or the total amount of taxes collected by the city. A reassessment is intended to make sure the tax burden is distributed fairly.
Your taxes may not change after the reassessment….Those properties with an assessment increase that is less than or equal to 13% will not pay higher taxes because of the reassessment. However, since the overall tax rate is determined by the budget needs of the school district, city, county, state, and technical college, the taxes paid on your property may be higher this year.
Cynical translation: If your increase is less than 14%, your property tax will not increase as a result of the reassessment (so don’t come crying to us). But it very well may increase as a result of the budget deficits in the city, county, state, school district, and/or technical college. So don’t come crying to us.
I think my favorite part of the letter is the use of passive voice to break the news that your taxes may go up. Instead of simply saying “your taxes may be higher,” they say “the taxes paid on your property may be higher.” The cute wording tries to imply that someone ELSE is paying the taxes!
4.3% Average Annual Increase
All in all, though, a 13% increase isn’t astronomical. Since the last comprehensive assessment was done 3 years ago, this really only amounts to 4.3% per year, which is reasonable. 4.3% per year is in the same ballpark as the roughly 3% annual appreciation that has been customary in the Eau Claire area for several years. Even if real estate in Eau Claire appreciates at 3% and the city assessment hike is 4.3%, that's not a huge difference, especially considering most properties in Eau Claire were probably under-assessed for the last few years.
I don’t have any handy research to back this up, but I believe that the school district, county, and city are all facing budget crunches at this time. Perhaps this reassessment will help keep teachers in the classrooms and bridges from collapsing. If so, perhaps it’s a small price to pay.
