Boulder County property values jumped between mid-2016 and mid-2018, in some instances as much as 18%, Assessor Cindy Braddock reported Wednesday.
Braddock and her staff have completed their latest biennial round of countywide reappraisals of about 120,000 taxable real estate properties and next Wednesday will be mailing 2019 notices of value postcards to owners of those residential, commercial and industrial properties.
“As many area residents were aware, real estate values have been going up at a significant pace based on high demand for a limited supply of properties for sale,” Braddock and her staff said in a news release. “Overall, there is a positive change in values for residential properties, although property values increased at a slower rate respectively than during the last few reappraisal cycles.”
The Boulder County Assessor’s Office said the median percentage increases for residential properties in the latest 2016-2018 appraisal period — single-family homes duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, condominium units and manufactured housing units — ranged from 13% for western Boulder County to 10 to 18% in cities and eastern portions of the county.
The median value increase of residential properties in Longmont was 17%; in Boulder, 11%; in Niwot, 18%; in Gunbarrel, 9%; in the Boulder County portion of Erie, 12%; in Lafayette, 12 percent; in Louisville, 10%; and in Superior, 10% , as well as a 13% median increase in the county’s foothills and mountain areas and a 15% increase in the plains areas outside of eastern county cities and towns, according to a Wednesday announcement from the assessor’s office.
Multi-family apartment complexes had similar increases due to high occupancy and rental rates, averaging about 15.
Commercial and industrial properties also showed higher values after the latest appraisals, with a median 15.5% increase countywide.
Colorado law requires county assessors to set new appraisal values every two years. The new values represent the Boulder County Assessor’s Office’s determinations of what properties were worth as of June 30.
Braddock, who joined six other metropolitan Denver area assessors in a Wednesday morning joint announcement of new property valuation determinations, in a separate news release said , “We are seeing a slight slowdown in property values, though the market in Boulder County is still strong.
“Limited inventory, reduced numbers of entry-level properties, increased job opportunities and being a sought-after place to live has sustained the increase in values of all property types in Boulder County,” she said.
Braddock and her staff noted that since the mid-2018 market value determination date, “the real estate market in Boulder County has continued to grow. Residential sales figures continue to rise, and homeowners may find that their homes are worth more in the current real estate transaction market than our assessments indicate from nearly a year ago.”
However, the next two years of property tax bills will be based in part on the mid-2018 market values assigned by the assessor’s office, rather than any increased sales prices for those homes or for comparable residential properties in their geographic areas since June 30.
Tax bills also will depend on the annual budget and in which taxing entities — school districts, municipalities and special taxing districts — properties are located.
Taxes are paid on a percentage of a property’s total actual value on assessor’s records.
The higher 2020 and 2021 residential property tax bills that could result from the assessor’s higher residential real estate market value determinations could be offset, somewhat, if the Legislature lowers the assessment rate used to calculate residential taxes.
In 2018 and 2019, owners of residential properties have paid taxes on 7.2% of market values county assessors assigned to properties.
A proposed assessment adjustment currently under consideration at the Statehouse would drop the residential assessment rate to 7.15%.
For commercial, industrial and other types of real estate, however, the assessment rate will remain at 29% of designated market value.
While the new values will be part of the basis for calculating property tax bills that will come due in 2020 and 2021, property owners through June 1 can file appeals if they disagree with the assessor’s decisions about the mid-2018 values.
The notice of value postcards being mailed next week include basic assessment information and a page that can be mailed as an appeal form. Property owners also can appeal their values by fax, in person or online.
Colorado law does not allow people to file appeals based solely on objections to past or projected property tax bills, but they can seek adjustments if they think the values assigned by the assessor’s office are incorrect, or if the assessor’s information about their property is inaccurate.
Boulder County notices of property value
Owners of properties located in Boulder County will soon get notices of value postcards in the mail.
Information about the property appraisal and assessment process will be posted on the Boulder County Assessor’s Office’s website, BoulderCountyAssessor.org.
Property owners can file appeals or seek more information from staff at:
• The assessor’s main office on the second floor of the downtown Boulder County Courthouse building, 1325 Pearl St., Boulder, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
• The Lafayette Community Services Center, 1376 Miner’s Drive, Unit 105, Lafayette, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, with staff available to assist residential property owners May 6-10 and commercial property owners on May 9.
• The St. Vrain Conference Room in Boulder County’s St. Vrain Community Hub in Longmont, first floor suites 113 and 114, 515 Coffman St., from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays with staff available to assist residential property owners May 13-17 and May 20-24, and commercial property owners on May 23.
• Lyons Town Hall, 432 Fifth Ave., from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. May 10.
• Boulder’s George Reynolds Branch Library, 3595 Table Mesa Drive, from noon to 3:30 p.m. May 9.
• North Boulder Recreation Center, 3170 Broadway, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. May 15
• Boulder Public Library Meadows Branch, 4800 Baseline Road, noon to 3:30 p.m. May 22.
For more information, call the assessor’s office at 303-441-3530.