BY EMILY BATTLE
Real estate assessors will start surveying properties in Fredericksburg next month.
The same firm--Staunton-based Blue Ridge Mass Appraisal--went through this same process two years ago, at the beginning of a reassessment that would double and even triple the values of some Fredericksburg properties.
But when Blue Ridge appraisers hit city streets in September, they'll be wading through a much different picture.
The last reassessment, which took effect in July 2007, started in the summer of 2006--just when the median home price in the Fredericksburg area peaked, according to Metropolitan Regional Information Systems.
As the last assessment was gearing up in September of 2006, the median home sale price in Fredericksburg was $384,000, according to MRIS.
Last month, that median was $317,000.
An assessment by law must bring property values as near to 100 percent market value as possible.
In July, homes in Fredericksburg sold for an average of 18 percent below their assessed values, according to city real estate records.
Nine of the 32 home sales recorded last month included a bank on one or both ends of the sale, indicating they could have been foreclosure sales.
Blue Ridge Owner David Hickey indicated last month at a council meeting, and last week in a release from the city, that foreclosure sales aren't the same thing as fair market sales, but they could still play a role in the assessment process.
"We can only consider actual arms-length transactions, though sometimes it is hard to be sure of those," Hickey said in the city's release.
At a July council meeting, he said foreclosures and other forced sales aren't good examples to look at to determine fair market value, but they can have an impact on the prices houses around them are able to fetch.
As Blue Ridge gets to work, residents might get a visit from an assessor, or they might find a yellow door hanger that Blue Ridge uses to collect data for its field work.
Appraisers are trying to determine how properties have changed physically--whether through improvements or damage--since the last assessment.
Blue Ridge is expected to send notice of the new property values next spring. At that point, a multi-level appeals process will begin.
The new values will take effect July 1, 2009. Their effect on your tax bill will depend on what the City Council does with the tax rate during next spring's budget process.
Emily Battle: 540/374-5413
Email: ebattle@freelancestar.com