Citizen Staff Writer
GARRY DUFFY
gduffy@tucsoncitizen.com
Residential property values for 2010 mailed this week by Pima County Assessor Bill Staples varied wildly, following the old real estate adage that what matters most in the market is location.
Overall, valuations have gone down countywide.
“The majority of properties in Pima County saw a downward trend in value,” Staples said Wednesday. Two areas rose.
Staples cautioned that is based on the median new valuation of homes – the statistical middle ground between the highest and lowest changes in value.
Owner-occupied single-family homes in the Midvale-Drexel Heights area dipped the most – a median of 19.6 percent from previous valuations.
Only homes in Marana-Avra Valley and Ajo were valued higher than last year’s communitywide valuations – a scant 1.7 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
Any valuation decreases seen by owners of the approximately 263,000 single-family residential homes will not be reflected in county property tax bills that will be mailed in September.
That’s because in Arizona valuations are used to calculate property tax bills a full year to 18 months after homeowners receive their valuation notices.
Homeowners will pay this year’s property taxes based on valuations sent out last year.
This year’s general decline in residential property valuations reverses a trend of recent years, where homeowners typically saw increases of 10 percent to 18 percent a year as a result of the then-overheated housing market.
Just because homeowners may see property valuation decreases from the assessor’s office this week does not mean that they will see decreases in property taxes in 2010.
Property tax bills in Arizona are calculated using tax rates and levies from numerous taxing authorities. Combined in property tax bills are tax rates from the county, city, Pima Community College, school and fire districts, the Central Arizona Water Conservation District and other jurisdictions.
Homeowners have until April 3 to appeal their most recent valuations. Call 740-8172 or visit www.asr.pima.gov/links/appeals.aspx for more details.
MEDIAN VALUATIONS
Median valuations and percent changes for 2010 property tax purposes.
Area Med. valuation % change
Southern-Avra Valley $195,500 -16.6%
Marana-Avra Valley $189,538 +1.7%
Tortolita Foothills $225,000 -4.5%
Oro Valley-Catalina $283,371 -7.2%
Near Northwest $201,047 -6%
Catalina Foothills $463,711 -0.9%
Northeast $305,011 -5.5%
Far east $202,059 -8.3%
North central $85,754 -5.6%
Flowing Wells $151,971 -9.5%
North Tucson Mountain foothills $234,946 -8.9%
South Tucson Mountain foothills $203,584 -6.8%
University $234,416 -.1%
South central $155,671 -5.9%
Near east $158,470 -7.6%
South Tucson-Airport $131,068 -14.7%
Midvale-Drexel Heights $150,641 -19.6%
Green Valley-Altar Valley $192,078 -7.2%
Vail $215,026 -7.9%
Santa Rita foothills $210,000 -2.2%
Central business $218,697 NC
Ajo $80,941 +0.5%
Source: Pima County Assessor’s Office