Property values are skyrocketing across Seattle and the surrounding areas, but people are now wondering if property taxes will do the same.
Historically, the appraised value of a house has been similar to the market value, but homeowners have been seeing a sharp increase in the market value of their homes in King County and surrounding areas.
“Just because values go up that much does not mean that property values go up that much. That will depend very much on the jurisdiction and the mix of taxes a property has,” said King County tax assessor John Wilson.
Homeowners have been on edge with the latest increases and are concerned how their property taxes will be affected.
There’s concern whether the appraised values will go up as high as the market values, or if there is a system in place to put a cap on the appraisals.
“Washington state is one of the states that has a budget-based property tax system. It floats depending on what the property values are,” Wilson said. “The other thing we have to remember is that there’s a 1% cap on revenue on property growth on property taxes. It can only be modified by the vote of the people.”
Appraisers tell KIRO 7 they have a pretty good idea where the market is going.
Their process is to evaluate properties, but they’re not basing them off the sales occurring right now; they’re referencing sales from the past two years, and will adjust prices to essentially reflect its impact on the current time.
The appraisers also said the inventory available is very low right now, but they’re starting to see inventory levels rise.
In a statement from the King County tax assessor’s office, they said Sammamish Plateau’s 2022 property tax will be up 52%. Kirkland, Redmond and Woodinville will be up roughly 45%. Bothell, Kenmore, Snoqualmie, Fall City and Hunts Point will see increases higher than 30%.
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