In total, the 957 homeowners to successfully appeal got their properties'
assessed values reduced by an average of 8.
The law limits how much
assessed values, and therefore taxes, can rise for homes and small residential properties in a given year.
The Baechtolds contended that applying a 25% ratio to the property resulted in an
assessed value that was disparately high in comparison to that of their neighbors'
assessed values.
Proposition 8, passed by California voters in 1978, provided for a temporary reduction in
assessed values where the Proposition 13 value of property exceeded the actual market value.
Simple stated, tax revenues are derived by applying a tax rate to
assessed values.
Assessed values have also experienced substantial increases due to both rising property value and new commercial and residential development, with
assessed values posting a strong 17.
In the real estate boom that followed passage of the ballot measure and that lasted until about five years ago, market values soared far above
assessed values and it was hard to imagine that market prices could plunge so severely they would drag down the
assessed values.
Those numbers do not compare well with
assessed values on the newest late-1980's prime, Class A properties that fall out closer to $11 and $12 a foot.
Properties not sold are subject to a 2 percent hike in assessment value each year under Proposition 13, the landmark 1978 law that requires counties to limit tax increases on
assessed values.
This is the first year we're starting to see a measurable impact of real market values below maximum
assessed values for residential property since the peak of the housing bubble in 2008," Assessor Anette Spickard said.
1 percent jump in
assessed values was a rise in the number of properties changing hands that are eligible for reappraisal under Proposition 13, the tax-limit measure passed by state voters in 1978.
Given that the Mayor has reported that since 1991 billable
assessed values Downtown have eroded by almost one-third, owners will want to measure their properties against that standard, at a minimum, and develop an appropriate tax reduction strategy.
