Some home assessments rise, others fall in Suffolk

SUFFOLK

Homeowners will see an average rise in assessments this year of 4.4 percent, but some will see theirs fall because sales didn’t keep up with past increases.

The assessor’s office lowered home values in about 30 newer subdivisions because many houses there sold in 2007 for less than or at their last assessed value, City Assessor Maria Kattmann said.

That was just one sign of a sputtering economy that surfaced in Kattmann’s annual assessment report, which the City Council will receive today.

n The median sales price of new homes in Suffolk fell last year to $320,400, a 12.5 percent drop from 2006 and lower even than 2005.

n The number of foreclosures almost tripled, to 118 from 43. Kattmann noted that the number remains relatively small – less than half of a percent of all the taxable parcels in city.

n The total number of real estate transfers fell to its lowest level since 2000. The city recorded 2,626 transfers in 2007, down from a high of 4,009 in 2005.

Kattmann, Suffolk’s assessor since 1996, said she has never overseen such a substantial downward adjustment in assessments as happened after reviewing house sales from 2007.

“Between 2000 and 2006 it was constant appreciation,” she said.

Kattmann said she has spoken with her counterparts in other South Hampton Roads cities, and they reported negative assessments there, too.

“Unfortunately, we all go home in the evening, we turn the TV on and we get the latest mortgage failure or bank failure,” Kattmann said. “That’s just the doom and gloom that unfortunately we’re feeding on every night.”

For example, at least 23 neighborhoods and five condominiums in Chesapeake saw average decreases. Some of the biggets hits came in upscale neighborhoods like Ravenna and Stratford Terrace Estates, which experienced decreases of up to 9 percent, city records show.

In Suffolk, as elsewhere, the market for affordable housing, which Kattmann characterized as homes under $200,000, remained strong and active, she said.

Commercial assessments rose by an average of 13 percent, boosting the assessed value of all property in the city to $8.95 billion. The city’s total assessed value in fiscal year 2007 was just under $8.5 billion – more than double the $4 billion figure of fiscal year 2004.

At 4.4. percent, the average increase in Suffolk’s residential assessments this year is the second highest so far in South Hampton Roads, behind a 5 percent rise in Portsmouth.

Norfolk reported an increase of just over 3 percent, while Chesapeake’s residential assessments will rise by less than 1 percent. Virginia Beach will see its figures on April 1.

In 2006, Suffolk’s assessments rose by an average of nearly 29 percent, an increase similar to those in nearby cities. The City Council responded by cutting the real estate tax by 12 cents, to 94 cents per $100 of a homes assessed value.

Residential assessments rose by 9.5 percent last year, and the council did not change the tax rate.

Before seeing Kattmann’s report, Vice Mayor Curtis Milteer said he wants to lower the tax rate this year if assessments rise, so the average homeowner will still pay the same in property taxes as last year.

An assessment increase of 4.4 percent on a $300,000 home would raise the tax bill by $123.

Last year the City Council ordered an outside review of the assessor’s office after Kattmann reviewed proposed assessments in three neighborhoods, leading to lower figures for many of the properties. Residents questioned whether some council members pressured her to take a closer look, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Phil Ferguson opened an investigation.

Kattmann called the activity surrounding her office “very distracting” but said she and her employees cooperated fully with the inquiries. Ferguson found that neither Kattmann nor the council members did anything illegal, and the consultants reported that the assessor’s office is run well and produces relatively accurate appraisals.

The consultants warned the council that Kattmann is short-staffed by at least two positions, however, making it difficult for her appraisers to visit properties as often as they should. They recommended that her office adopt a goal of trying to inspect each parcel in the city at least once every five years.

Kattmann said that\ with her current number of workers. She has asked for two new positions in the upcoming budget; last year her request for one new position failed.

In a departure from past years, Kattmann said her office tried to examine each of the city’s roughly 1,100 waterfront parcels this past year to ensure equitable treatment for homeowners who live on and near water.

It’s sometimes difficult to reach waterfront homes, so her office used aerial photography and the city’s Geographic Information System to inspect properties from above to see just how many feet, if any, they have along the bank of a river, creek or lake.

Staff writer Mike Saewitz contributed to this report.

Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com