2022 Property assessments reflect aggressive real estate market

A City and Borough of Juneau property assessment is the Assessor’s determination of the fair market value of your property as of January 1, 2022. For residential properties, values for single-family homes in Juneau went up by 8.4% on average over the last year. This market activity is reflected in CBJ’s 2022 property assessments. The increase in value was driven by a high demand for homes, low supply of new homes, and rapidly rising building costs. Average assessment increases for single-family homes by neighborhood range from as little as 5% out Thane Road to as much as 12.2% in the Casey Shattuck (Flats) neighborhood.

Residential properties become worth more when people are willing to pay more. 2021 saw about 800 residential sales in Juneau; CBJ has sale prices for roughly half of them. Here are details on what drove residential property values up:

• With so many buyers in the market and so few homes to buy, sale prices tended to exceed asking prices. In the 2021 housing market, it was not uncommon for sellers to receive multiple offers including escalating contingencies from buyers trying to make sure they were not out-bid. Some homes were purchased with additional cash above and beyond what could be financed based on a market appraisal.
• Interest rates — essentially the cost to borrow money — were also historically low. Lower interest rates give buyers additional purchasing power, and that purchasing power created high demand among limited supply.
• Prices for lumber and other building materials surged last year, as did labor costs. These price inputs increase the cost to replace a home, which in turn increases the prices that buyers were willing to pay.

Generally, commercial property assessments did not go up at the same rate as residential. Overall, commercial assessed property values increased 2.31% from 2021 to 2022. The 2% overall increase did not keep up with 2021 market trends, which indicated a 5% increase. Sales information continues to be a challenge for commercial assessments. In 2021, there were 62 recorded market transactions CBJ is aware of. CBJ only has sales information on 13 of these transactions.

Why do CBJ assessments matter? Your property taxes are calculated by multiplying your assessed value with the millage rate, so it is important that your assessed value is accurate. Until the Juneau Assembly finishes next year’s city budget and sets the property tax rate in June, no one knows exactly what their individual property tax bill will look like. The Assembly has the authority to reduce or increase the mill rate, or keep it flat.

CBJ sent out property assessment notices on March 8. If you think your property was inaccurately assessed, you must file a petition for review by Thursday, April 7, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. If you have questions or concerns about your valuation, please contact the Assessor Office at 907-586-5215 or [email protected] for assistance. As a reminder, petitions for review can be filed electronically. Staff are here to assist you in any way to ensure your petition is filed and received. The petition for review form can be found here or through this link: juneau.org/finance/assessor-forms.

For more information, contact the Assessor Office at 907- 586-5215 or [email protected].