People who live in Newhallville, the north Hill area and downtown/Wooster Square condos have one thing in common this season: They’ve all been hit hardest by the latest round of property revaluations. Read on for a neighborhood breakdown.
In the latest property value assessments conducted by the independent firm Vision Appraisal, the city’s grand list rose by 60 percent. (The city’s grand list comprises all taxable property, including residential and commercial property and motor vehicles.)
That means if your property value rose less than 60 percent in the latest reval, you should pay less in taxes this fiscal year than the last, unless additions are made to the approved budget (which is likely). If your reval showed an increase of more than 60 percent, you’ll end up with a greater tax burden compared to last year. Assessments are based on market value “” click here for an explanation of how the whole process works, and why it’s too soon to panic.
If you’re wondering how the latest revals affect your part of the city, here’s a spreadsheet showing a complete neighborhood breakdown. It shows median assessment increases for 29 different pockets of the city, broken down into categories by type of home.
Last time the city did revals in 2001, East Rock got walloped. This year, increases are smaller, though East Rockers east of Orange Street will see more leaps in assessment values than those to the west.
Some poorer neighborhoods are catching up this time, with Newhallville, Fair Haven and the Hill showing significant hikes.
In the condos category, the northern Hill area showed the greatest hike, with values more than tripling, showing a 211 percent increase. Downtown and Wooster condos weren’t far behind, posting a 190 percent increase.
In three different categories, Newhallville boasted the biggest leaps: a median 104 percent increase in assessments of one-family homes; 143 percent in two-family homes and 162 percent in four-family homes. Chapel West took the prize for three-family homes, with a 190 percent jump.
The city will likely phase in revals over a period of five years. The mayor’s also considering a property tax freeze for the elderly, such as those at Bella Vista, whose condo values jumped a median 101 percent.