Annandale assessments decline 5.5 percent
Assessed value of residential property in Annandale declined 5.56 percent from last year, the Fairfax County Department of Tax Administration reports. The median value of homes in Annandale is $351,907 in 2010, compared to $372,973 in 2009.
The county began mailing real estate assessment notes to county taxpayers Feb. 23. Based on equalization changes, the mean assessed value of most single family-detached homes for 2010 is $525,068, countywide is down -5.50 percent. According to the Department of Tax Administration, about 80 percent of residential properties in the county experienced an assessment decrease and another 16 percent had no change for 2010.
That puts Annandale right in the middle, in terms of assessment declines. Areas where the assessed value of residential properties declined at a lesser rate include Burke, Fairfax, Fairfax Station, Herndon, Oakton, Reston, and Springfield. Areas where the assessed value declined more than 7 percent are Centerville, Falls Church, Lorton, and McLean.
These numbers are averages, however, and the assessed value of an individual property can change for a variety of reasons, such as remodeling, rezoning, and selling prices in the neighborhood.
Commercial properties show an overall equalization decline of -18.29 percent. The county attributes this change to a decline in the value of hotels (-34.0 percent), office elevator properties (-24.3 percent), and multifamily apartments (-12.7 percent).
If you have a question about an assessment, contact the Department of Tax Administration, 703/-222-8234. Residents can obtain a list of residential sales within each assessment neighborhood online.
Appeals must be made in writing to the department’s Real Estate Division, and for the first time, can be done online. Appeals must be filed by April 2.
Real Estate appeals can also be filed with the Board of Equalization, a separate entity that conducts formal hearings and takes sworn testimony. All appeals to the board must be filed by June 1. The Fairfax County Circuit Court also handles real estate assessment claims.
—
The Annandale blog’s real estate contributor, Vivianne Couts, of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Fairfax, has offered to help homeowners gather data to appeal their assessment. You can contact Vivianne at
703/963-6735 or visit her website.
One response to “Annandale assessments decline 5.5 percent”
Leave a reply
This does not bode well for next years county budget. I know we are still in the midst of debating and passing this one but it looks as though we will be doing this again next year. It will be interesting to see what the Board of Supervisors does with the Real Estate tax rate on March 9th.
Recognizing that tax assessments don't typically line up with (in fact lag) sales prices, it is nonetheless interesting to note that the average (not median) sales price for January in Annandale(including single fam, townhouses, and condos) was 397,456.