Assessed home values show an increase
Homeowners in Summit County, the tax assessor’s office has good news and bad news: The good news is, your assessed home value has most likely increased since the last assessment. The bad news: Property taxes may go up a bit.
However, county assessor Beverly Breakstone is hopeful 2010 taxes won’t go up too much. She said the upped values don’t necessarily mean people will have to pay a whole lot more in taxes.
She’s holding a public meeting at 9 a.m. Friday, May 8, at the Community and Senior Center in Frisco, for people to ask any questions they’d like. If you can’t make the meeting, you can check the county’s website (after May 4) for data it used to assess properties, at www.co.summit.co.us. Or you can call (970) 453-3480. If you aim to appeal your property valuation, do so by June 1.
Data for 2009’s assessments came from the sales of 3,119 Summit County properties from Jan. 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008, when sales were still flying. Transactions after June 30, 2008 won’t be used for data until the 2011 assessment comes out. The county is legally bound to only use statistics through June 30, so it can’t count any reduced prices that may have occurred in the last six months of 2008, due to the slower economy.
Breakstone also said that this recent real estate sales slowdown could be “just a blip,†with property values rising again soon.
Why your tax bill may not change much
The amount of Breckenridge property taxes you owe doesn’t just rely on the value of your home. The final tax bill is based on three factors, and two amendments, which hold residential taxes at a cap.
Tax bills are affected by: the amount of taxpayers in the county, the total value of property in the county and taxing entities’ budgets (such as the school district, fire department, water and sanitation and Colorado Mountain College).
This year, there are over 300 new taxpayers, including businesses, to spread the total tax bill around. And, property values in Summit County reached about $17.9 billion this year (that number may change slightly if a lot of homeowners appeal their property valuations), as opposed to $10.9 billion in 2005. Finally, if taxing entities don’t up their budgets too much, they won’t make much of an impact on total taxes due.
Then there are the amendments: Tabor limits the amount taxing entities can use in their budgets, and Gallagher mandates that businesses and owners of mining claims or vacant land pay 55% of the county-owed taxes, while residents pay 45%. This has saved homeowners, collectively, about $11 billion in taxes since 1982, when the amendment went through.
However, it also means business and owners of lots pay much more. For example, a $1.3 million home would owe about $5,588, while a $1.3 million lot would garner a tax bill of $20,361.
Statistics from the county assessor, based on data from Jan. 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008:
Vacant land increased by an average of 38.5%.
In Breckenridge: 99% increase
In Silverthorne/Dillon: 60% increase
North of Silverthorne: 52%
Frisco: 45%
Summit County was the fifth county in the state to see such a large lot increase. Pitkin was just ahead, Eagle was just below, and Rio Blanco increased by 189%.
Shock Hill, Breckenridge’s premier ski-in, ski-out luxury land, saw a 72% increase in land value, from 754,000 in 2007 to $1.3 million.
Residential Breckenridge homes (including single- and multifamily) jumped up by an average of 24.5%, which made Summit the sixth highest county in the state for such increases. Routt County (Steamboat) came in first, Pitkin (Aspen), third, and Eagle (Vail) lagged behind at 10th place.
Since July 1, 2006, single-family homes have gone up:
24% in Keystone
21% in Breckenridge
19.6% in Frisco and Copper
16.2% in Silverthorne and Dillon.
Duplexes have appreciated:
54.72% in Breckenridge (downtown is even higher)
40.8% in Summit Cove
34.8% in South Breckenridge
20.4% in Frisco and Blue River
Less than 10% in Keystone
1.5% in Silverthorne, Wildernest and town of Dillon
NOTE: This doesn’t mean that sales prices followed this trend; Breakstone admitted that at times, the county falls short on its assessment, and properties sell for much more than they had thought. Other times, their calculations are much closer to actual sales prices.
283 sales took place in the study period above $1 million, which is a 132% increase over 2007! Eleven sales took place above $3 million, and in the 2007 revaluation there were only three. Two sales were over $4 million, and in 2007 there were none, which shows that Summit County is able to support very high-end buyers.
Right now, there are 132 properties listed in the MLS above $2 million — 42 are above $3 million and 13 are above $4 million!
Breckenridge property values have seen great growth: In the last appraisal, the median sales price was $850,000, and this time around it’s $1.09 million, with an average sales price of $1.243 million!
The highest sale in Breckenridge so far was $5.5 million.
Condos in Summit County:
The number of condos has increased by 9%, and condos have made up 60% of all the home sales. The highest priced condo took place for $2.27 million, in Breckenridge, at BlueSky. Condos now make up 52% of the county’s total residential properties. Breckenridge has the most condos in Summit County, with 4,000, making it a great place to buy.
Condo increases based on median value:
Breckenridge: 29%
Frisco: 24%
Keystone: 34%
Silverthorne and Dillon: 42%
Copper Mountain: 37%
Luxury unit sales in Breckenridge:
Since June 30, 2008, One Ski Hill Place has eight units under contract above $2 million, once again showing that buyers are still willing to pay for luxury homes. Fairmont Shock Hill Lodge and Spa has 15 units under contract above $2 million, and 5 units are under contract above $3 million, making the average square footage price $1,300. A Crystal Peak unit sold last September for $2.4 million
Foreclosures:
Summit County mls hasn’t seen nearly the amount of foreclosures as other counties and states. In 2008, there were 56 sales of foreclosures, but 38 of them (69%) were timeshares. In 2007, 46 of the 58 were timeshares, and in 2006, 4 of the 14 were timeshares, showing that people are dumping their timeshares before anything else.
