Property Assessments to Rise 8.6% Starting in the New Year

By Sue Ellen Woodcock

In the new year, property owners can look look forward to a 8.6 percent increase in the assessed value of their home.

 

The average single family home in fiscal year 2017 was valued at $386,429 and for FY18 it is valued at $419,931. The average residential tax bill will increase by $378.

 

Deputy Assessor Stephen Roche presented a report to the Town Council Tuesday night. He said the town did go through a revaluation during the last three years. Due to a change in state law the next revaluation is five years away. During the revaluation over 4,000 parcels of property were looked at.

 

The Board of Assessors must determine the classification of all real property as of Jan. 1, 2018. There are five classes of property: residential, open space, commercial, industrial and personal property.

 

The tax rate for FY17 was $14.41 and, with Department of Revenue approval, the FY18 tax rate will be $14.16, a 1.7 percent decrease.

 

Roche said in fiscal year 2018, 354 properties contributed to the new growth due to construction. Winthrop’s total taxable valuation is 93.77 percent residential and 6.23 percent commercial/industrial/personal property.

 

“We had a good amount of new growth,” Roche said.

 

Of course real estate sales fuel the values. Year to date information from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors shows the median sale price for a single family home at $475,000 up 15.2 percent over 2016. The average single family home is on the market for 34 days. Median price for a condo is $320,500, which is 8.7 percent above 2016 and they spend 44 days on the market.