Valuation Hike In Store For Many Residential Properties
Many Mills County property owners are being notified this week by the Mills County Assessor’s Office of an increase in valuation on their residential property.
Mills County Assessor Christina Govig said Monday assessment notices are being sent out this week. The new valuations, determined by a January assessment, will be the basis for property taxes payable in the Fall of 2022 and Spring of 2023.
“Many Iowa property assessments increased in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic,” Govig stated. “It was believed that COVID-19 would have a negative effect on the values of real estate. This has been quite the opposite for the majority of properties.”
Govig said the residential housing market in the area has experienced an unprecedented rise in values over the last couple of years and the trend is continuing in 2021.
“It goes by sales and sales are very high right now. It’s a seller’s market – there’s more buyers out there than property, which is driving the prices up,” she said. “With them selling so high, we’ve had some (sales) $100,000 or more over our assessment values. We have to be at market value, so as the sales rise, the assements rise.”
Govig noted that the rise in home sale prices correlates with low interest rates, reduced inventory of housing and increased demand.
Overall, Govig said valuations for farm land in Mills County are down slightly while residential are up. She noted, however, not all residential areas of the county are seeing an increase. Valuations in the Pacific Junction area, devestated by catastrophic flooding in 2019, are not going up.
“We’ve got it nailed down so tight – every area is different,” Govig said. “Emerson, Hastings, Tabor and areas like that don’t have the sales (like some other areas) so they did not increase. But where we have sales in Glenwood, Malvern and in the townships, we have increases.”
Residents with questions regarding valuations or the assessment process are encouraged to call the Mills County Assessor’s office at 527-4883.