SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — Property values are on the rise in Snohomish County.
Assessed valuations for 2023 averaged a 28% increase throughout the county, according to the Assessor's Office.
“The Assessor’s Office is charged with determining the value of property in Snohomish County, and we have a team of professionals who work hard to be accurate and thorough,” said Snohomish County Assessor Linda Hjelle. “We know that the housing market has been pushing ever higher and our valuations reflect that growth.”
According to the Assessor's Office, property taxes typically won't increase based on an average assessed value increase. However, they may depending on voter-approved measures and taxing districts' budgets.
In response to the assessed valuations, the City of Snohomish addressed concerns from residents regarding property taxes.
“While property values have skyrocketed this past year, we want to assure residents of Snohomish that they will not see a comparable increase in their 2023 property taxes,” said City Administrator Heather Thomas. “Rising property values do not necessarily increase local taxes. In Snohomish County, all taxing districts’ budgets, including the City of Snohomish, are limited by how much their budgets can increase yearly.”
Assessed valuations reflect the values of real estate sales. Citing the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, the Assessor's Office points out there was a median increase in residential and condo sales price of 27.09% between Jan. 2, 2021, and Jan. 1, 2022.
"Pressure in certain areas of the county due to low inventory and high demand in particular property types can increase that amount," a statement from the Assessor's Office reads.
Property values within the county's school districts increased at least 20%, with Monroe, Granite Falls, Northshore, Darrington, Snohomish, and Index all seeing more than 30% increases.
Information on how much residents will pay in property taxes won't be available until budgets are adopted at the end of the year.
It comes as real estate broker Sandy Meyer with RE/MAX Elite's The Down Home Team says sales have seen a massive increase.
"The housing market has been on fire the last couple years, it's something that's been unprecedented," Meyer said. "Over the last 20 years we haven't seen this kind of rise."
Meyer says over the past few years, there have been multiple buyers for each property and the price they were willing to pay has been higher than ever before.
"People knowing they could buy more with the interest rates low, and the economy surrounding Snohomish - we had a lot of tech that came in and they moved their way up, and they didn't have to move into a storefront to go and work, as long as they had internet access they could go live out in the country, and work for the guy from Seattle but do it in Snohomish," Meyer said.
Meyer says higher interest rates will likely cool down the market a little, a benefit for buyers, but it remains to be seen how and when that will impact current property owners.