Members of the Board of Tax Assessors engaged in a lengthy discussion on property tax values in the face of slow sales, lower prices and foreclosures at their October meeting, Monday.
Board Member Ted Colley began the discussion saying, “You hear on television about values going down. I think we have to look at this closer. I know we are being fair, but in the situation we find ourselves, we need to be objective. I know this is a very tough job.”
Chief Tax Appraiser Roy Dobbs and BOA member Joe Fore both replied that the staff is keeping a close eye on sales and is making adjustments where needed. Dobbs was adamant that while sellers may not be getting asking prices on some properties, with most sales, people are still getting more than fair market values listed in tax records.
Fore said, “I sympathize, and we do want to be fair. But the numbers don’t show that the values are declining in the county.”
Dobbs said final sales prices recorded on property transfer forms sent to the tax office “are all over the scale.” He said some sales prices have fallen below the value at which the properties have been assessed, but many sales still come in higher than assessments.
He cautioned that people trying to assess the overall market need to bear in mind that many times discussed prices of various parcels aren’t necessarily what such parcels really sold for.
Defending the fair market values on the tax rolls, Dobbs said all statistics compiled by state auditors show Pickens values are in an acceptable range. Dobbs said, based on state statistics, the tax office’s fair market values are actually under-priced in some areas.
Colley asked for tighter scrutiny on assessor-assigned tax values based on his observation that banks currently will not loan money at the full fair market values in many cases.
As another example of inflated values here, Colley cited the Willow Creek subdivision as typical of some recent developments where homes aren’t selling at the price they were going for several years ago.
Colley also noted large 15 to 30 acre tracts will not bring what they did several years ago.
Dobbs said in many cases it is true homes won’t bring what they did at a high point, but they do bring more than the tax office’s recorded fair market value.
Dobbs, along with tax office employee and BOA secretary Stephanie Gooch, said they don’t like to speak in general about properties here, because there are too many variables, and answers vary greatly depending on location of a parcel. Fore said with real estate, “it’s always location, location, location.”
Dobbs and Gooch said they could not cite a percentage of property transfers that come from foreclosures versus regular sales.
But Dobbs begrudgingly noted that, in general, a 15-30 acre parcel might have brought $17,000 per acre at a market high a couple years ago. The same piece might only bring $8,500 per acre today. But the tax office may have only had it valued at $6,000 per acre.
Dobbs said there are some areas, primarily planned subdivision that never got off the ground, where tax values have been reassessed at a lower value.
But these were abnormal cases, he said. Compared to other counties, Pickens real estate values have held steady, he said. “Our market is not as bad. There may not be many sales here, but maybe we weren’t as overbuilt as other places,” he said.
Dobbs said it’s unfortunate the tough economy is forcing some people to get rid of properties or to lose them to banks. “People are lacking income to support several properties,” he said. “They have got to cut something loose.”
Fore said for tax appraisal purposes, foreclosures or distressed sales are not considered “comparables” as they are not “arm’s length sales.” Arm’s length transactions are relatively solid here, based on the numbers coming from property transfer forms in the assessor’s office, he said.
Dobbs said it is important for everyone to remember that even if his office lowered values, property owners would not see an automatic drop in tax bills. He said people in this county would be very frustrated to see property values lowered across the board, only to then see millage rates raised, making actual tax amounts about the same or even higher.
The budgets of county government and the school board determine tax bills more than appraisals do, Dobbs said. The tax offices are charged with having a fair and uniform system of values with no eye to creating revenue, he said.
In other business:
• Dobbs noted phones have been ringing steadily since tax bills were mailed. He said some people were satisfied when the BOA staff explained about the higher millage rates and the loss of state homeowner relief funds which added between $200 to $300 to bills. But some people “are a little upset about everything in the world.” He predicted the office would continue to handle a lot of phone calls for the next 30 to 60 days.
• BOA member Joe Fore said the efficiency of the staff is “commendable.” He said the Pickens assessors’ office operates with one fewer employee than the state recommends for a county this size and has one of the lowest cost-per-parcel ratios in the state.
Dobbs said they have been fortunate with retaining employees and making the best use of new technology to hold down cost.
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