Lancaster County Assessor’s Office waits to revalue some property

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The real-estate market in Lincoln has been a strong seller’s market for years now. As homes are being snapped up in just day, often over the asking price.

Because of these factors, and more, the Lancaster County Assessor’s Office said it’s waiting a year to revalue some property.

Waiting for 2023 when they can get a more accurate picture of what things are actually worth. Last year, many homeowners in Lincoln saw their property values jump sharply, even during the pandemic. The County Assessor, Rob Ogden, said things like interest rates and that seller’s market will likely continue to push prices up, but many won’t see a change on this year’s assessment.

Starting on June 1, single-family homeowners will likely be in for no surprises. As the County Assessor’s Office said, many valuations won’t be going up for 2022, which is good news when it comes to paying property taxes.

A few exceptions to that are new builds and people who undertook large renovations or updates to existing homes.

“We’re at the lower end of where we’d like to be, but we really needed another year to see where the market is going,” Ogden said.

Ogden said the decision hinges basically on the unknown. As homes continue to sell over-value, it’s hard to pin down what they’re actually worth. So, waiting until 2023 gives them time to get a more accurate picture and catch up.

“Typically things don’t get adjusted every year,” Ogden said. “We look at them, see if we need to. In fact our multi-families did get increased last year and we had to increase them this year to try to not be way out of the ballpark for market value”

Matt Kirkland is a realtor in Lincoln. He said the market has continued to be a seller’s market, driving up the average price of homes and that he’s often selling homes for over the asking price.

in January of 2021, the average house sale price in Lincoln was $225,000 and as of April of 2022 its now $288,000,” Kirkland said. “So we’ve literally had a 25% increase in the average sale price of the home in Lincoln”

Ogden said it’s important for property owners to be ready for next year’s values, and that’s across the board from residential to commercial to agricultural land.

“It shows that we’ve had double-digit increases in values based on the sales over the last two years,” Ogden said. “Which means we’ll be catching up next year. so be prepared for some significant changes next year”

Homeowners can take a look at their preliminary valuations now, and the official ones will be released the first of next month. People can challenge those valuations during the formal period through the entire month of June.

Copyright 2022 KOLN. All rights reserved.