By Aldo Svaldi
The Denver Post
Property values across the metro area, both residential and commercial, have skyrocketed, and property owners should brace themselves for higher property taxes in the years ahead.
Assessors must value property in the state every two years, and are sending out notices by May 1 on their estimated values as of June 30, 2014. Those notices will go into the formula for determining what taxes property owners pay in 2016 and 2017.
The percentage jump in property values, reflective of the region’s strong rebound in real estate prices, are record-setting in many metro counties, assessors said in a press conference Wednesday.
“Property values across Denver have recovered from the recession, reflecting the desirability and growth of the city,” said assessor Keith Erffmeyer.
Denver shows a 29.6 percent jump in the median value of residential properties, a 33 percent jump in multi-family and an 18 percent jump in commercial property values.
In Arapahoe County, the median residential value was up 22 percent and commercial values were up 15 percent, while in Adams County residential values were up 19.8 percent. In Jefferson County, residential values are up 20 percent on average in the latest assessment cycle and Douglas County is seeing a 19.2 percent jump in home values.
Assessors said many of the sharpest increases came in the lower-cost properties that suffered the biggest hit in the real estate downturn.
In Denver, for example, properties in the northeast and southwest neighborhoods are seeing some of the biggest jumps in values.
Likewise, in Arapahoe County, Aurora showed the biggest increases, especially areas near Colfax Avenue, said assessor Corbin Sakdol.
In Jefferson County, the “flat” communities saw the biggest gains in value, while the foothill and mountain homes experienced less upward pressure on values.
Higher valuations won’t translate into a one-for-one increase in property taxes, given limits set by the state’s complex tax code and local mill levies.
But assessors warned that higher values will result in higher property taxes for the vast majority of owners, and they should budget accordingly.
Taxpayers will have until June 1 to protest their individual valuation and any protests must be based on values as of June 30, 2014, said JoAnn Groff, the state’s property tax administrator.
Taxpayers won’t be able to protest their property tax notices once they come out in January.