 |
|
Athens mulls dropping townwide revaluation ATHENS - Officials may stop the annual schedule of conducting townwide revaluations until the real estate market stabilizes. Problems with the sale prices of homes exceeding the value established under a continually updated revaluation program were discussed Monday during a Town Board meeting. "It's almost like the market is too volatile to keep up with," town Councilman Jack Lubera said.Under a proposal to stop updating all properties for four years, the town would only change values when there are land transactions. Officials said other options include changing calculations to reflect higher values for all properties based on a state calculation that there has been an eight percent increase in property values. "When a state applies an equalization rate, it's going to be right across the board broad brush," assessor Francis Fuchs said. "A property that's appreciated 5 percent by my sales analysis is going to get hit with 10 percent." Equalization rates are used by the state to settle assessment disparities in taxing districts where values are set by different municipalities. Fuchs attributed the difference in local values to state figures with the sale of "trophy homes" that do not reflect the price that would be received by the owners of similar property and buildings. Officials said the current real estate market is similar to other periods when people from other areas "think they've found a bargain" because the prices are lower than in neighboring counties."I saw it back in (1987). People would buy a home and then three or four years later go to sell the house and couldn't get what they paid for it," Fuchs said.
İDaily Freeman 2004 |