If you’re a homeowner and checked your mailbox today you may have found your new property assessment in the mail.  And if your property is typical, your assessment should have gone down approximately 13.9% from last year’s level.

King County Assessor Scott Noble, in what is probably one of his last acts before heading off to jail, signed off last month on the 2009 Area Property Assessment Reports, including that for Capitol Hill. These area reports are used to define the percentage by which property values in each area of the County will be adjusted for 2010 property-tax purposes.  The map at left shows are the area covered by the Capitol Hill report.  There are three geographic groupings represented, but the housing markets in all three sub units were analyzed together to produce one adjustment percentage for the entire area.

Here for comparative purposes is how Capitol Hill’s downward adjustment of 13.9% compares to other Seattle neighborhoods:

• Madison Park – down 12.3%
• Fremont – down 17.1%
• Magnolia – down 17.4%
• Central Area – down 18.1%       
• Georgetown – down 19.3%

And here’s what some neighborhoods on the Eastside experienced:

• Novelty Hill – down14.1%
• Woodinville – down 14.3%
• Bellevue – down 15.3%
• Sammamish – down 15.9%
• Duvall – down 18.4%

So, if it’s any consolation to property owners on the Hill, it appears that in the opinion of the Assessor, this community has held up better than most areas of the County (several area reports have still to be issued publicly, however).

After noting that they have historically taken a conservative approach to computing changes in market values, the County’s Department of Assessments this year says that “in the recent declining market, this approach was not an option. Instead, sales occurring prior to January 2009 were adjusted downward for use in the analysis process. An additional downward adjustment was warranted to account for lack of sales and the influence of distressed sales on the housing market. Most homeowners will see a significant reduction in the assessed value of their home.”   All homeowners on Capitol Hill will have their property value adjusted by the “standard area adjustment” of 13.92%. 

A caution is in order, however, lest anyone think that a 13.9% decline in property values means a 13.9% decrease in their 2010 property tax assessments.  Far from it.  The amount of tax each homeowner will owe next year will be determined in January 2010, and everyone will be notified of their 2010 tax bill in mid-February next year.  The new tax rate (aka millage) that will be imposed next year will be determined by the funding needs of governments within the County, some of which were imposed by the voters through tax levies.  As the Assessor’s Office puts it, “Property valuations do not determine the amount of overall property tax obligations. Property tax obligations are determined by 160 taxing districts in King County as they create their respective budgets for 2010 and are not determined nor set by the Assessor. Simply put, the amount of tax obligation is determined by the taxing districts and the distribution of the obligation is determined by property values.”

So the bottom line is that since Capitol Hill has held up better in the market downturn, the effect of this is to shift a greater burden to this community in meeting the overall tax obligations of the County.

If you have not yet received your new property assessment and want to know what it is, you may access this information at the Department of Assessments website.