Changes are made in as many as half of the cases where Alexandria’s real estate assessments are appealed by homeowners, said Cynthia Smith-Page, director of Alexandria’s office of real estate assessments.
“In a typical year, about one-third to one-half [of appealed assessments] are changed,” Smith-Page said in an interview with The Examiner. Roughly 1,000 appeals are made annually, she said.
Assessments are usedby Alexandria to determine how much real estate tax is owed to the city. Assessments are calculated by surveying neighborhoods to see how much homes there are being sold for. Factors like new construction on individual homes are also taken into account, Smith-Page said.
Homeowners must pay 81.5 cents for every $100 of the city’s assessed value of the home. The average homeowner in Alexandria pays $4,293 a year in real estate taxes, Smith-Page said. The amount of tax owed has increased significantly in recent years, as housing prices have risen by double digits. Smith-Page said she expects 2006 real estate taxes to go down, as the housing market has softened.
Taxes are calculated using the appraised value of the house on the first of the year. Therefore, residents are paying taxes on the value of their home at the start of the year, before the housing market began to soften.
“This year, fewer [assessments] are being changed, if the reason for the appeal is a downturn in the market,” she said. Smith-Page said the market downturn would be reflected in 2007 tax bills.
If an appeal is heard by the tax assessment board, homeowners are allowed to make their case on why the city’s appraisal of the property is incorrect.
