EVERETT — People who own the least expensive homes could wince the most when they open the yearly property-assessment notices that Snohomish County mailed last week.
The values are used to calculate next year’s taxes.
The jump caught the attention of Assessor Linda Hjelle. The trend has never appeared so stark at the lower end of the market. Given the steep run-up in prices, that’s now considered any home worth $350,000 or less.
“It is of concern to me,” Hjelle said. “We are seeing a significant increase in the affordable housing area, which I would consider starter homes, mobile homes, condos and apartments. More so than in the higher-end homes.”
Overall, home values increased countywide by 11.9 percent and commercial properties by 9.3 percent.
For manufactured homes outside of mobile-home parks, however, the rise was 20 percent. Apartment complexes went up about the same amount. Condominiums jumped 14 percent.
Nearly two-thirds of the county’s 17,509 manufactured homes are outside of mobile home parks. Preserving Snohomish County’s mobile home stock as affordable housing became a priority during the housing boom a decade ago. Many mobile home parks were bought up for redevelopment into houses and condos. Elected leaders in the county and the city of Lynnwood took steps to make it harder to sell the ground out from under those homeowners.
In most areas of the county, assessed values went up by 9 to 12 percent. One exception was in the Northshore School District, which includes Bothell and its surroundings. Real estate there went up by more than 15 percent. Another was in the Index School District, where the rise was only about 3.8 percent.
More than half of the average property-tax bill goes to schools. The rest pays for county and city services, fire protection and other special service districts.
The values lag behind the actual market, as they’re based on property sales in 2016. State law specifies how the mass appraisals are calculated.
Homeowners can petition the county’s Board of Equalization if they have evidence to refute the assessor’s value.
Countywide, the combined value of residential property now stands at $93.1 billion. That’s about $9.9 billion more than in 2016.
Commercial properties totaled nearly $32.1 billion, some $2.7 billion more than a year ago.
Appraisers will spend the coming months sizing up new buildings. Owners will receive value notices for new construction this fall.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
People with questions about the new value of their property can call the assessor’s office before filing an appeal with the Board of Equalization. Call 425-388-6555 for residential properties and 425-388-3390 for commercial properties.
Petitions must be filed with the Board of Equalization within 60 days of when the notice was mailed. Forms and instructions are available by visiting www.snohomishcountywa.gov/134/Board-of-Equalization or calling 425-388-3407.
Property-tax exemptions are available for some homeowners, including senior citizens and people with disabilities. To learn more, visit www.snohomishcountywa.gov/328/Property-Tax-Exemptions.
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