Foreclosures are a main factor driving housing prices down these days, but they won't play a direct role in the property reassessment under way in Fredericksburg.
Mike Didawick of Blue Ridge Mass Appraisal Co.--the firm the city has hired to perform this year's reassessment--said Tuesday that foreclosure sales will not be considered as they reassess homes.
"We are not using market foreclosures as a part of our market study because foreclosures do not meet the definition of fair market value between a willing buyer and a willing seller," he said.
The Fredericksburg area has been among the hardest-hit in the state for foreclosures, according to recent data from RealtyTrac.com. In the city, Idlewild has experienced the brunt of the problem.
The city hasn't been hit as hard as neighboring Stafford and Spotsylvania counties, however. One in 1,410 households in the city received a foreclosure-related filing in January, according to RealtyTrac.com. That figure was one in 237 in Stafford and one in 252 in Spotsylvania.
Didawick did give a presentation on some home sales that were considered in the market study, which will continue through April. Homeowners will receive their reassessment notices that month.
Didawick said some homes have been selling at 25 percent below their assessed values while others are almost holding steady. He said that as of last week, his firm has inspected 79 percent of total properties in the city.
The last reassessment in Fredericksburg ended in April of 2007.
Councilman George Solley asked at Tuesday's meeting why foreclosures shouldn't count toward a property's taxable value, since they do affect what neighboring homeowners can get for their properties.
"I just don't understand why you don't use foreclosure sales when they actually do affect the market values of existing houses, should they be sold," he said.
Didawick said that while he agreed foreclosures affect the selling price of a home, they do not meet the legal standard of sales to be considered for assessment purposes: a transaction that involves a willing buyer and a willing seller.
After assessment notices are sent out in April, property owners will have an opportunity to appeal them. City Council members will begin work next month on the 2010 budget. The tax rate they set in that budget will determine how the new assessments affect tax bills.
Reporter Emily Battle contributed to this story.
Lauren Orsini: 540/374-5000, ext. 5617
Email: lorsini@freelancestar.com