When Bad News Isn’t Really Bad
If Arlington taxpayers didn't receive their 2007 assessment notices in the mail yesterday, they probably got the news this morning with stories in both the Arlington Sun-Gazette and the Washington Post. In our opinion, however, the Sun-Gazette presents a more accurate picture of the situation than does the Post by reporting in the lead two paragraphs:
“Arlington County's heavy concentration of commercial property appears to have insulated the county government from the worst effects of the softening real estate market, according to new property-assessment figures released Jan. 16.
"While average residential assessments declined from the year before - they are down 0.8 percent - commercial assessments rose 13.7 percent compared to 2006, according to preliminary figures released by the county government.”
Even the county’s press release got it right in their title: “Arlington Real Estate Assessments Up 6.7 Percent Overall for 2007: Commercial growth continues while residential real estate values moderate.” The Post chose to emphasize, instead. that home values in Arlington decreased by 1%. The difference is important because with the 6.7% increase in overall property values, the County Board will have virtually no reason to increase tax rates this year.
Speaking of commercial real estate, however, GlobeSt.com reported last weak the sale of two properties that sold far in excess of their 2007 assessments, suggesting that they may be underassessed. One is at 4501 Fairfax Drive and the other is 1310 North Courthouse Road. Both show “sales dates” late in December 2006, which is outside the window that the county’s assessment department normally would have used in determing the 2007 assessments
As the Sun-Gazette story noted, all properties are required to be assessed at fair market value (FMV). Consequently, when the 2007 assessments were posted at 5:00 PM today, it was interesting to note the real estate investors think these two properties are more valuable than does the county’s Department of Real Estate Assessments. Property owners wanting to delve further into DREA’s effectiveness may want to review the “assessment-sales ratio studies” of all Virginia jurisdictions performed by Virginia’s Department of Taxation.