Article published Sep 29, 2005
City assesses changing property values

By Andrew Nelson
Telegraph Staff

NASHUA – The selling prices for residential properties continue to outpace commercial properties in the city’s latest update of property assessments, according to city administrators.

Chief Assessor Angelo Marino said home values continue to rise, but at a less dramatic rate without the quick turnover of homes for sale in the early part of this decade.

“We all know how difficult it is to find a starter home,” he said.

The median assessment for a single-family home in the city is now $298,350, when a year ago it was $227,600, according to city records. The median means that half of the homes in the city have an assessment below that figure and the other half are above it.

The median single-family home price nationally was $219,400 in August, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Locally, segments of the real estate market are in flux.

Deborah Sutton, a real estate agent and a founder of At Home Realty, said real estate is stabilizing in some segments, such as high-end homes, while prices for condominiums and homes starting around $250,000 are rising faster.

Homes are on the market on average from 90 to 120 days, Sutton said, while a few years ago, many homes sold in fewer than 45 days. The commercial market continues to be soft, without steep increase in sale prices, Sutton said.

The city based its updated assessment figures in part on about 1,500 property sales from October 2004 to July 2005, Marino said. whole city is now $9.2 billion, an increase of some 29 percent from last year, Marino said. The increase reflects rising property values, along with realigning the assessments to show full market value, said city officials.

A property’s assessment determines the amount of property tax paid by the owner. The assessment should reflect the price the owner would receive if the property were sold.

City administrators will release more details at a meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at the Nashua Public Library. Residents will not have the opportunity to learn about individual properties, but rather the big picture of property values in the city.

The city plans to mail letters to property owners next Friday with information about current assessments, and the information also will be posted on the city’s Web site (www.gonashua.com).

As far as the impact on taxes, Administrative Services Director Maureen Lemieux said the city still forecasts a tax increase of more than 4 percent.

If a property’s assessment has increased at the pace of the city as a whole – 29 percent – the owner should see a tax increase of a little more than 4 percent. An assessment increase of more than 29 percent would mean a higher tax increase, and less than 29 percent would mean a smaller tax increase, she said.

This is the second year in a row that City Hall has updated the assessments, after nearly four years of stable property assessments. Marino said his goal from now on is to review assessments every two years, unless a dramatic shift requires a second look.

“It allows for peaks and valleys to smooth out,” he said.

Marino said the city’s assessments on all properties are now very close to market value. Last year, city properties were valued just under 85 percent of their market value, he said.

Residential property assessments have increased by 33 percent for single- family homes to 42 percent for three-family homes, Marino said.

Assessments for the commercial sector continue to rise, but not at the same pace as the residential market, Marino said. Commercial properties increased in value between 15 and 20 percent, according to Marino.

The commercial sector here is on the outer edge of the Boston commercial market, and it is affected by the glut of office space in the region, Marino said. He did not have information about the median price of Nashua’s commercial property. This is a look at median assessments for residential property in Nashua last year and this year.

RISING ASSESSMENTS
Single-family homes 2004: $227,600; 2005:$298,350
Two-family homes 2004: $208,400; 2005:$279,500
Three-family homes 2004: $232,800; 2005:$330,000
Condos 2004: $153,650; 2005: $206,200

Source: Nashua City Hall
© 2003, Telegraph Publishing Company, Nashua, New Hampshire