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.
Reach Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225 or johnny.edwards@augustachronicle.com.
SETTLING FOR LESS
Average sale prices for residential homes have dropped this year in Richmond and Columbia counties, 7 and 5 percent respectively, and went up 2 percent in Aiken County.
In the following data, 2007 figures reflect January through December sales, and 2008 figures reflect January through September.
RICHMOND COUNTY
2007
Average sale price: $113,375
Average list price: $116,070
Average days on the market: 87
2008
Average sale price: $105,758
Average list price: $109,548
Average days on the market: 99
COLUMBIA COUNTY
2007
Average sale price: $204,339
Average list price: $207,415
Average days on the market: 84
2008
Average sale price: $193,788
Average list price: $197,579
Average days on the market: 112
AIKEN COUNTY
2007
Average sale price: $146,130
Average list price: $147,373
Average days on the market: 76
2008
Average sale price: $148,720
Average list price: $150,979
Average days on the market: 110
Source: Greater Augusta Association of Realtors
IN THE MILITARY
Serving your country but can't sell your home?
The Augusta Chronicle is looking for military service members who've been transferred and are having trouble selling their homes. If you're in the military, stuck with a mortgage you can't unload, and willing to talk to a reporter about it, call Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225.
HOUSE'S WORTH
The assessed fair market values of homes in Richmond and Columbia counties can be found on the county governments' online geographical information systems.
RICHMOND COUNTY: go to www.augustaga.gov/departments/gis/home.asp.
COLUMBIA COUNTY: go to http://68.216.79.105/columbia/default.htm.
In both systems, click on "parcel search" and enter an address or owner's name in the appropriate fields.
Comments
Glad I sold when I did! Phew!
prime example of how crooked the whole property tax system is in the state of georgia. we need to eliminate property tax and replace with sales tax revenue. then everyone pays the bills and the tax assesor will be out of a job and then maybe get a clue on what it is to suffer.
The sales price of houses in a given area IS the market value for that area. Assessesd value has absolutely no meaning in the real world, other than tax purposes. County governments will not admit that fact and someone will have to file a lawsuit against that particular governing body to obtain a realistic assessment.
Will Hell freeze over?
dear chief, in this a period of slow economic growth, boardering on a recessions, that means in basic economic term slow growth and reduced consumption, where is the additional funds necessary to fund the day to day operations of the government...i. e. police, fire, utilities, schools supposed to come from..by using sales taxes as a revenue stream poor economic times will mean a drop in state, local and federal revenues collected by the government. i agree there shoud be something in addition to property taxes as a means to fund government, maybe a supplimental consumption tax in addition to the property tax system. but a straight consumption tax in poor economic times will bring in less revenue than the system we have now
A couple of years ago, I was a home owner trying to sell my home over taxed in another city. After trying to negotiate with my mortgage company, I stopped paying the mortgage. A "flipper" picked up my home at pre-forclosure stage for a fraction of what I owed, and he was sold for a small profit. The selling price was less than what I originally owed. It took a year, but the county assessor did revalue that home for less than it was for me. It seems the only way to get tax relief is to sell your home, because the assessors do not want to reduce their tax base, reality be damned!
Government greedy? Noooo lol
Good point, paulwheeler.
If the fair market value were a law, how come the county does NOT abide by that when we are being taxed? The county boosted all our property values and increased the taxes! In all actuality, the home values are suppose to be lower and the taxes are just based on the inflated boost by the city. No wonder people had to buy homes they could not afford--No wonder the banks needed bailing out--No wonder why people are selling and MOVING OUT! Then when things get tough on the economy, the city expects us to bail them out yet again when they waste money left and right! On minimum wage, I can't wait to see if the commissioners can make only $240.00 a week (gross) and have taxes taken out of their checks to make ends meet! Perhaps that would be a good wake up call to get businesses to come in again!
I just love her Brilliant Last statement, don't you? DuHuh, Life in the CC, Gotta love it! All of you people down there that smart, or is it just your Government Officials?
My home value (in Columbia County) went down this year, but my taxes went up. Does that make sense? I've been in my home for 11 years and this is the first time that my value has gone down. I know we are in hard economic times and I'm fine with the fact that the value decreased ... I have no plans to move ... but, taxes going up? That sounds like someone trying to make 2+2=5!
Property values in Columbia County have been inflated for years, it is about time the county leaders get real and learn to live with in their means. If you vote for a tax to build a swimming pool and other foolish projects you are not to bright.
This is what happens in a two "class" society! For those that want a flat tax, get used to it, this will be the norm under that proposal.
Get use to it people the local government will always raise taxes to support their drunken spending. Remember this next election time, vote the present tax assessors, commissioners out of office.
By not accessing every sale of a home, they are artificially inflating the cost of housing. Especially is a majority of the homes are being discounted do to the reasons listed in the article. Every sale should be used to reflect the true market value. I for one, who is shopping for a home right now am just sick of the number of houses out there demanding top dollar for homes that have fallen into neglect. In the old housing market, homes only increased in value if they were maintained and upgraded. Now seller think just because they own a property that without any maintanence or upgrades that they can get top dollar. A market correction is long over due and without all these bogus loans to artificially raise the costs, it's coming. Now that people are going to have to come up with real down payments for loans most imperfections in a property will not go overlooked like they were when mortgages were getting passed around like trading cards.
January 1 and Charles Allen can't come fast enough for this Columbia County taxpayer. The reining-in of government aggrandizement may need to begin at the local level and percolate upward to ATL and DC. After all, in popular government, the people are closest to government at the local level. There governmental self-discipline may be first imposed by an alert, intelligent Public.
Please, Please, Please send you comments via email to the appropriate county employee listed on the county's websited. There are a number of employee's in the tax assessor's office that have email addresses and they need to hear (read) these comments first hand. Flood them!
Do your homework and request a meeting with equalization board. If your neighborhood houses are going down in value you will get a reduction in your value. It has to be based as SALES; nothing else. If you determine to win you will win. Sometimes just a letter will get a reduction as that worked for me.
mr. worth, it is the unchecked spending by the commissioners and the school board. the tax assessors office has nothing to do with your tax liability. you value could stay the same or decrease but you tax liability can increase because the school board or commissoners vote to increase the mill rate. to all, to get a better understanding what the tax assessors office does and its duties go to GAAO.ORG and the GA. DEPT OF REVENUE WEBSITES, that will spell out what the duties of the tax assessors office AND the tax commissioners office. assessments can go down based on what homes are selling for AT THEIR FAIR MARKET PRICE, sales other than fair market value are not considered. fair market sales as designated by the DEPT OF REVENUE are sales between 2 or more people without outside influences such as being related, buying a home in forclosure, bying a home from your next door neighbor, or buying a bunch of houses together
What's really driving me crazy is that folks don't understand that your house isn't necessarily worth what you bought it for. When I bought my house a couple of years ago I purchased it for considerably less than it was worth- the seller had to sell ASAP so I got a GREAT deal. A house is worth what people are willing to pay for it; to find that number you must consider several different homes that have sold recently & that are comparable to your home & are in the same/comparable area. What most people also don't understand is that the county's assessed value is incorrect a great deal of the time, usually because the info is outdated (which can work in your favor as it can be assessed too low). THE COUNTY DOES NOT HAVE A LAST SAY ABOUT THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME FOR RESALE PURPOSES- they only have a say about the value that they'd like to tax you on. For the most part what a house is worth is based on what an average buyer is willing to pay for it.
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