Nearly 20% of Orange County homes are over-assessed, a San Diego-based property tax advisory firm estimated.Thursday is the deadline to file a request for an informal property tax review.Adam Berkson, founder of EasyTaxFix.com, estimated that 115,000 Orange County homeowners should file since they could be eligible for a tax cut averaging $1,149, or nearly a third off the average tax bill.In Placentia, more than half the homes have assessments that exceed the homes’ current market values, Berkson estimated. Nearly 43% of Portola Hills homes and 35% of Aliso Viejo homes are over-assessed.
South County beach cities stand to get the biggest tax cuts, the analysis shows. The average tax savings in Laguna Beach was estimated at $4,808, or 61% of the average tax bill there. Monarch Beach taxpayers may be eligible for an average cut of 57%, while Capistrano Beach and Corona del Mar both could be eligible for more than half off their taxes. “What I tell people is they should have some say in how their property is assessed,” Berkson said. “You know your neighborhood best.”
The assessed value of your home is the basis for determining how much you pay in property taxes. Thanks to Prop. 13 — which limits tax hikes — most homeowners are ineligible for tax cuts. But if you purchased it in 2003 or later, chances are it’s worth less than what you paid — and you could be eligible for a tax cut.
The one-page form needed to request an informal tax review can be downloaded from the Internet at www.ocgov.com/assessor. O.C. Assessor Webster Guillory said you don’t even have to fill in the part requesting three comparable sales, although it’s obviously much better to do so.
Miss the deadline for an informal review, you still can file a formal tax appeal between July and mid-September, but that process takes much longer.
In his analysis, Berkson also determined that:
•Higher-priced homes have a greater tendency to be over-assessed. For homes assessed at $500,000 or more, 45% of the properties are over-assessed, he said.
•The more recent a home’s purchase, the higher the proportion of over-assessed homes (see chart above).
•For example, just 9% of the homes purchased from 2000 to 2002 were over-assessed, the analysis shows.
•That rises to 14% of homes purchased in 2003, 36% of those purchased 2004, and more than 60% for homes purchase from 2005 through 2007.
Guillory, the county assessor, said it’s likely that more than 115,000 homes will be eligible for tax breaks this year. Last year, his office lowered taxes for 147,000 homes. His office plans to review assessments for more than 300,000 properties for the current tax year.
May Brings Further Price Appreciation to Houston’s Housing Market
Single-family home sales reach the highest volume of 2009
HOUSTON — (June 16, 2009) — Sales of single-family homes for the greater Houston area achieved the highest volume of 2009 in May, and average and median home prices climbed to the highest levels since August 2008, showing signs of a real estate market that is benefiting from seasonal spring home buying. However, compared to one year earlier, overall May property sales were down 23.3 percent and sales of single-family homes dropped 21.2 percent, according to new monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR).
At $157,450, the May single-family home median price – the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less – rose 1.6 percent versus one year earlier. The average price of a single-family home in Houston edged up 0.3 percent last month to $213,474 compared to May 2008.
Sales of foreclosure properties continued to shrink in May. Those properties, which typically sell below market prices, made up 19.9 percent of all single-family home sales in the Houston area. That compares to 34.0 percent in January, 28.0 percent in February, 24.5 percent in March and 23.6 percent in April. The median price of May foreclosure sales reported in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) tumbled 5.3 percent from $89,900 to $85,108 on a year-over-year basis.
Sales of all property types in Houston for May totaled 5,539, off 23.3 percent compared to May 2008. Total dollar volume for properties sold during the month was $1.1 billion versus $1.5 billion one year earlier, a 23.8 percent decline.
Demand for rental properties eased slightly in May, with leases of single-family homes up 0.1 percent and leases of townhouses and condominiums up 6.2 percent on a year-over-year basis. This may be an indication that consumers are growing more inclined to purchase rather than lease homes, especially as interest rates—still at historically low levels—begin to rise.
“The more I speak with real estate associations around the country, the more I appreciate the strength with which the Houston market has weathered the economic downturn,” said Vicki Fullerton, HAR chair and broker of record at RE/MAX of The Woodlands & Spring. “Our current housing climate has been performing at about 2004 levels while other regions of the U.S. are suffering what Houston endured back in the 1980s,” she added. “Many Houston Realtors are reporting increased activity this spring, and we hope that translates to measurable improvement in overall market performance.”
May Monthly Market Comparison
The month of May brought Houston’s overall housing market mixed results when all listing categories are compared to May of 2008. Total property sales and total dollar volume fell on a year-over-year basis while average and median single-family home sales prices rose.
The number of available properties, or active listings, at the end of May fell 15.1 percent from May 2008 to 45,282. That is just 13 more active listings than one month earlier, in April 2009, and continues to reflect balanced levels of housing inventory.
Month-end pending sales—those listings expected to close within the next 30 days—totaled 3,637, which was 24.7 percent lower than last year and suggests another decline in sales when the June numbers are tallied. The month’s inventory of single-family homes for May came in at 6.2 months, down 5.4 percent from one year earlier. The national month’s inventory of single-family homes rose slightly to 10.2 months, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).
CATEGORIES
MAY 2008
MAY 2009
PERCENT CHANGE
Total property sales
7,218
5,539
-23.3%
Total dollar volume
$1,497,152,151
$1,140,088.553
-23.8%
Average single-family sales price
$212,872
$213,474
0.3%
Median single-family sales price
$155,000
$157,450
1.6%
Total active listings
53,305
45,282
-15.1%
Total pending sales
4,828
3,637
-24.7%
Months inventory*
6.5
6.2
-5.4%
* Months inventory estimates the number of months it will take to deplete current active inventory based on the prior 12 months sales activity. This figure is representative of the single-family homes market.
Single-Family Homes Update
At $213,474, the average sales price for single-family homes rose 0.3 percent from May 2008, when it was $212,872. The figure is at its highest level since last August. The median price of single-family homes in April was $157,450, up 1.6 percent from one year earlier. The national single-family median price reported by NAR is $169,800, illustrating the continued higher value and lower cost of living that the Houston market offers consumers.
May sales of single-family homes in Houston totaled 4,797, down 21.2 percent from May 2008, and accounted for the 21st consecutive monthly drop. However, that volume is the highest so far for 2009. Year-over-year sales of single-family homes priced at $80,000 and below declined 12.3 percent in May, reflecting tapering foreclosure-related transactions.
HAR also reports existing home statistics for the single-family home segment of the real estate market. In May 2009, existing single-family home sales totaled 4,019, a 21.4 percent decrease from May 2008. At $196,866, the average sales price for existing homes in the Houston area rose 0.5 percent compared to last year. The median sales price of $147,400 for the month was up 1.6 percent from one year earlier.
Townhouse/Condo Update
The number of townhouses and condominiums sold in May fell compared to one year earlier. In the greater Houston area, 399 units were sold last month versus 618 properties in May 2008, translating to a 35.4 percent decrease in year-over-year sales. However, that still represents the highest sales volume for all of 2009.
The average price of a townhouse/condominium fell to $156,907, down 11.1 percent from one year earlier. The median price declined 18.7 percent to $125,950 from May 2008 to May 2009.
Lease Property Update
Demand for single-family rentals eased in May, and may suggest that conditions—particularly for first-time homebuyers—have improved to the point where consumers are ready to purchase. Single-family home rentals rose 0.1 percent last month compared to a year earlier. Year-over-year townhouse/condominium rentals rose 6.2 percent.
