Summit County Property Values Increase Amid 'Explosive Growth' In Real Estate Market
SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Property values in Summit County are on the rise and if you live there, so are your taxes. The assessor's office will send out notices of valuation on May 3, and while the stats are no surprise, those waiting for the bubble to burst may be surprised that it's likely not going to.
"Quite the opposite," said Frank Celico, Summit County Assessor. "When COVID first hit, there was a lot of speculation as far as what is this going to do overall? What we actually saw was really explosive growth in the real estate market in summit county, starting in the summer of 2020 and continuing until now. There was a record number of sales that occurred, there's record low volume of inventory of properties available, it's really been… it's been astounding to see the number of deeds we are processing, and the prices people are paying for property … but that is going to show up on people's values in the 2023 reappraisal."
According to the assessor's office, the median percent change for residential property values throughout the county, including single family homes, duplexes, and townhomes, was about 10.69% on average, while condominiums were about 11.47% on average.
One area that has seen a decrease in value is commercial property, specifically restaurants and lodging, as a direct result of the pandemic.
"On the commercial side, a lot of times we are valuing commercial property based on income, and so clearly there was an impact even before June 30 of 2020 on commercial values. But that was only a portion of the time we were taking into consideration."
The increasing home values is good news for homeowners but has caused a strain on the long-term rental market.
"Summit County has, per capita, about the highest short term rental rate in the state of Colorado," Celico continued, "A lot of properties have come out of the long-term rental market, putting more and more pressure on on people who live and work in Summit County."
The good news? Anyone who can afford to invest in property in Summit County, will likely see a return if they decide to sell.
"Whatever you paid for your property in summit county, you could probably turn it over today for more money than you could've then. But rental, I really do think it's a tough time for people to be long term renting."
According to a news release, notices of value will be sent out on May 3. Property owners wishing to appeal their 2021 value with the Assessor's Office may submit a protest during the month of May.
"It's very important for property owners protesting their values to understand that their value is based on the records we have of their property's characteristics. Therefore it is most important for taxpayers to review the Assessor's records, which are available on our website, to confirm if the information we have is accurate. For example, the square footage or the bedroom and bathroom counts," Celico said. "Providing our office with different comparable sales most likely won't result in a change to our valuation of your property, while letting us know that you only have 2 bathrooms, not 3, likely would."
