NCW Real Estate Blog

Russ Miller alerted us to this article in the Columbian.  In Clark County, most home owners will see a decrease in their home values of between 2 and 3 percent.  It is the first decrease since the early 80s.

In Clark County, the market is showing further declines this year with values on the Mulitple Listing service showing even larger declines so far this year.

We have seen a slowing market in the Chelan area as well.  Average, even median values, don’t necessarily reflect the market value of the same home this year versus that same home’s value the last few years.  I will be anxious to hear at the forum on Monday whether the Chelan County Assessor is seeing any retreat in values as the market softens.

The article states:

Most Clark County homeowners will see a decline in their assessed property values when 2007 statements from the Assessor’s office are mailed out next week. It is the first drop in overall assessed values since the early 1980s.

The average decrease of between 2 percent and 3 percent is bound to create some confusion, as usual, said Mike Webber, residential appraisal staff manager for the Clark County Department of Assessment and GIS.

It appears that Clark County revalues properties each year and has had increases the last few years:

The latest assessments are in sharp contrast to last year when residential property values were increased an average of 12 percent, thanks to sizzling home sales in 2006.

By mid-2007, things had started to cool, with fewer sales, an increasing inventory of homes for sale and declines in median sale prices.

“There has been a modest decrease in the average price of a home in Clark County,” said Webber, who has worked for the Clark County Assessor since 1995. He said he could not recall a single instance when assessed values had declined in his 34-year career as a real estate appraiser in Washington and Oregon.

Tags: General Interest, Northwest //