Little change expected for property assessments

The owners of Boundary County’s 9,000 properties — most of which are residential — should get good news in the mail next week.

The 2009 property assessment notices, which determine the amount of taxes one must pay, will see little or no change in value, said county assessor David Ryals.

“It could be predicted that most tax bills — due out in November — should remain about the same as well,” Ryals said.

He attributes the lack of change to the market holding steady in the county.

“The volume of sales is down, but the selling prices remain mostly where they have been,” Ryals said.

He noted that because the local economy doesn’t tend to experience “great highs,” it also doesn’t see “great lows.”

Realtors claim property sales in the county are down 12 to 15 percent.

“It seems to be it’s a little more than that,” Ryals said. “It depends on the agency. It’s always hard to gauge.”

He noted a lot of people with properties for sale are not willing to take less money.

“They’re willing to wait,” Ryals said. “I think they realize (how) the market (works) and are hanging in there. Nobody wants to be the first to take half as much and they will wait longer.”

There will be some changes due in assessments to the normal re-appraisal/re-pricing process, but most property values will stay about the same, he said.

He suggests property owners should review their notice and contact the assessor’s office at 267-3301 no later than June 22 if they have questions.