It's something Debbie Robertson said she has never seen in her 16 years at the Columbia County Tax Assessor's Office.

Residents wanting to unload their homes are cutting prices in the wake of the housing bubble bust, and in some cases selling below what the tax office says their properties are worth.

"This is an unusual situation for us," said Ms. Robertson, the county's chief appraiser. "I'll put it that way."

But whether falling prices will translate to lower property taxes is uncertain. State law requires fair market values -- the county-recorded figures used to calculate tax bills -- be based on "arm's length" transactions of comparable properties between willing sellers and buyers. Deals made under pressure can be disqualified, and that's likely to be the case with many turnovers in this year's dismal market, Ms. Robertson said.

If that proves to be the case, taxes could stay at levels set back when economic times were good.

Of 2,196 qualified Columbia County property sales this year -- qualified in that on first inspection they appear to be between unrelated parties -- 444 were below fair market values. In past years, the figure never topped 100, Ms. Robertson said.

In Richmond County, 232 out of 987 qualified sales undercut assessed values, Chief Appraiser Calvin Hicks said.

In April, a two-story brick house with a swimming pool in West Lake, listed on tax rolls at $530,688, sold for $515,000, the seller taking a $4,000 loss from what he paid for it.

A 1,550-square-foot home in Martinez' Ashton Woods subdivision valued at $141,931 sold for $90,000 in January.

Four months later, a house around the corner sold for $85,500 when it was valued at $133,491. Then in July a 1,760-sqare-foot house on Ashton Woods Drive, assessed at $153,116, sold for $122,900.

Gayla Moore, a vice president with Meybohm Realtors in Augusta, said it's a buyers market and will likely remain so for some time.

"If you want to sell them, you're not going to be able to price them like you would six months ago or even a year ago," she said.

Both Ms. Robertson and Mr. Hicks said the mere fact that an owner would have to significantly mark down a home to sell it isn't enough to lower its assessed value. Little will change in areas that remain stagnant, with "for sale" signs up but nothing moving.

"They are going to remain as they are until there is some market evidence that they need to be changed," Mr. Hicks said.

Sales resulting from foreclosures or threats of foreclosure aren't factored, he said. Counties can also disqualify relative-to-relative sales, estate sales, sales resulting from divorce, sales between adjacent neighbors, houses sold in bad condition and houses sold under pressure because of a job transfer.

That leaves those sold by folks who decided 2008 would be a great year to put their house on the market, Ms. Robertson conceded. However, she said, a high number of low-price transactions in a neighborhood could make a difference, as could be the case with Ashton Woods, where five of the nine houses sold there this year were for less than appraised values.

"There will definitely be some areas that will decrease this year," she said.

But even if values drop for legitimate reasons, there's still no guarantee 2009 taxes will follow. Ultimately, it's up to county commissions and school boards, which can raise millage rates to prevent budget shortfalls.

Columbia County Commission Chairman Ron Cross said that would be a last resort.

"It is a concern, but I don't think the numbers will be that drastic," he said. "And it'll turn back around."

Ms. Moore said the downturn has been especially hard on Fort Gordon soldiers who bought houses off post. When they get transferred and are forced to sell, they have trouble breaking even, she said.

The seeming disconnect between county values and market realities has hit her, too. Ms. Moore owns half of a duplex off Lumpkin Road whose assessment jumped from $26,712 last year to $48,332 this year, nearly doubling her tax bill.

"There's no way I could sell that for $48,000," she said.

Mr. Hicks said assessments are based on what a property would sell for on Jan. 1 of a given year. They don't fluctuate with market conditions throughout the months.

In Aiken County, Interim Tax Assessor David Gove said values aren't likely to change anytime soon. Reassessments are done every five years there, the next one scheduled for 2011 based on 2010 data. New state laws provide other mechanisms for adjustments, but so far he hasn't seen a need.

"I have yet to see a sale that is less than what someone paid for it," Mr. Gove said.

Greater Augusta Association of Realtors President Linda Townsend said the housing market downturn hasn't hit this area as hard as other places, and she credits local Realtors, mortgage companies and appraisers who've been conservative in assigning home values.

Overall, Ms. Robertson said, Columbia County homes have held their worth better than those in surrounding counties, likely because of the demand for the school system and the quality of life. Then again, that demand might have contributed to inflated prices during the housing bubble, she said.

"The market may be adjusting itself a little bit with all of this," she said.