Lakewood home values down 2.7%, according to Jeffco assessor

JEFFERSON COUNTY – Lakewood property owners soon will have an official document to back up what they already know: Home values are down.

But the revaluation notices from the County Assessor’s Office indicate the hit isn’t as bad as most expected. The valuation of Lakewood real estate is down 2.7 percent, according to Jeffco Assessor Jim Everson, reflecting one of the smaller declines in urban Jeffco.

In the county as a whole, the median decrease for a single-family home was 2.1 percent, but varied from a 1.7 percent increase in Edgewater to a 7 percent decrease in the Conifer area. And an even wider spread was in some neighborhoods, according to figures compiled by Everson’s office.

“Countywide, the median value of an existing single family home decreased from $249,600 in 2009 to $247,000 in 2011,” Everson said. “However, there was a lot of variability between neighborhoods, which ranged from a 5.4 percent median increase to a 14.9% median decrease.”

Notices of Valuation for 2011 will be mailed to property owners on May 1, 2011, and the figures in the 2009 notice reflect property values as of June 30, 2010, as required by State law. The last revaluation of the County was done in 2009 and reflected 2008 values

Communities posting increases are Wheat Ridge, up 0.3 percent, and Edgewater. Those posting decreases are Evergreen, down 6.6 percent; South Jeffco, down 2.9 percent; Golden, down 1.7 percent, Lakewood and Conifer.

“Mountain communities were hit the hardest,” said Everson, “Of course, individual properties can and will vary from these averages.  On the business side, actual value decreases were about
3.5 percent with the largest decreases coming in the office, retail and manufacturing and slight increases in commercial condos and warehouses.  Apartments and other multi-family values stayed about the same.”

But information from Metrolist^® indicates the slide in home prices continues and indicates a March, 2011, average single-family home sales price of just more than $245,000, and a median single-family home price of $204,000, down $1,000 since January. That’s about $43,000 less than the median price Everson’s Office calculated in June for all Jeffco homes.

Metrolist is the largest multiple listing service in Colorado.

Metrolist’s data indicates 555 Jeffco houses sold in March 2011, a decrease of 10.9 percent compared with March 2010, reflecting what a Metrolist spokesman called “the effects of the homebuyer tax credit from 2009-2010” which no longer is available.

And houses stay on the market longer without the homebuyer tax credit of last year, according to Metrolist, which said the average “total days on market” in Jeffco increased from 85 days in 2010 to 119 days in 2011.

Under Colorado law, property valuations are conducted every two years. The valuations homeowners receive in early May are based on an 18- month period that ended in June. County assessors use neighborhood sales reports as well as other factors to determine residential property values.
Everson expects some challenges.

“If (property) owners disagree with the values in the May 1 notice, they need to appeal with my Office on or before June 1,” Everson said. “As always, I will make myself available to speak to interested groups to discuss details of the assessment calendar, valuation process and the appeals procedure.”

Based on a countywide average of about 100 mills, which is subject to change, residential property owners will pay about $8 in taxes for every $1,000 of the “Current Year Actual Value” shown on the Notice of Valuation. Non-residential property tax bills are expected to average $29 per $1,000.

“This will vary based on the specific mill levy for the tax district where the property is located,” according to Everson’s office.

Total mill levies for tax districts in Jeffco vary from 74.890 mills to 197.267 mills. A residence with a $300,000 actual value could be subject to property taxes ranging from $1,788 to $4,711 depending on the tax district in which it is located, according to the Assessor’s Office.