Halifax County tax value set at $3.3 billion

Properties gain four percent on average in reassessment; 2022 tax rate to be reset


 

 

 

Halifax County real estate has gained four percent in value over the past year as a robust housing market has driven up prices for new and existing homes.

All told, Halifax County real estate is worth $3,294,834,704, according to the 2021 tax reassessment conducted by the Halifax County Commissioner of Revenue office. In 2020, the total assessed value of county properties was $3,161,035,527.

The biannual tax reassessment sets values for county homes, farms, land tracts and business properties based on market sales activity, as well as how individual properties may have appreciated or depreciated due to structural changes — such as home expansions or falling income at commercial sites. Factors such as zoning or residential subdivision changes also may influence property values.

Tim Spainhour, who conducted the reassessment for the Office of the Commissioner of Revenue, said a strong market for residential homes is behind the rising valuations of county real estate.

“The mid-range and high-end houses are where you are seeing the biggest gains,” he said. “But on the low end, too, it’s across the board,” said Spainhour. “Everything is selling.”

The prices that homes, farms, business properties and other properties fetch on the open market inform the work of the county assessor. By law, properties must be assessed at 100 percent fair market value. Values are based on market sales and apply to real estate that has not gone on the market in the past year.

The rising tax values mean that Halifax County will be required to advertise a new real estate tax rate in 2022. The county’s current real estate tax, of 50 cents per $100 in value, must be lowered to offset the impact of higher property values. If the Board of Supervisors keeps the 50-cent rate in place, it would have to be advertised as a tax increase before the rate can go into effect.

Traditionally, supervisors have adjusted the rate downward to produce the same level of tax collections — creating an equalized rate that is revenue neutral for the county.

“As to what the equalized rate is, the board will have to make the decision on whether to adjust [that],” said Halifax County Administrator Scott Simpson.

The Board of Supervisors is set to hold a public hearing in March to get citizen input on the proposed real estate tax rate. No decisions can be made on where to set the tax rate until the public hearing is conducted.

Even if the real estate rate is lowered to offset the impact of rising valuations, some property owners will find themselves paying higher taxes in 2022. That’s because their properties will have gained more than the four percent county average. This is a group that will include many homeowners.

Spainhour, who has spent much of his six years with the Commissioner of Revenue office doing property appraisals before becoming Halifax’s tax assessor, said it is not uncommon for home values to have risen by 10 percent or more in the past year.

“I would say with houses between $70,000 and $120,000 [in value], they really jumped up, about 10 or 15 percent,” said Spainhour. Higher up the ladder, homes valued at between $250,000 and $300,000 typically gained about 5 percent, he added.

Weak valuations for commercial properties and little change for many farms helped to bring down the overall valuation to a four percent boost, Spainhour said.

With reassessment notices having gone out to property owners, the assessor’s office is fielding challenges from people who think their homes and land have been overvalued. So far, appeals have been handled internally, a process that is ongoing, said Spainhour.

He said his office will adjust tax assessments when property owners can produce information showing that some factor that influences the tax value — such as a household amenity or construction feature — has been misjudged.

Starting in January, property owners who are not satisfied with their tax assessments can take their challenges to the Board of Equalization. The three-member board will accept appeals filed between Jan. 3-31, with hearings slated to begin in February. Appeal forms can be obtained from the reassessment office at the Mary Bethune Complex in Halifax.

The Board of Equalization is appointed by the circuit court to conduct independent reviews of property valuations. If property owners are dissatisfied with their reassessments after a ruling by the Board of Equalization, they can take the further step of appealing their case directly to the circuit court, although that option is rarely used.

The findings of the tax assessor are roughly in line with market trends tracked by the Virginia Association of Realtors. In its most recent monthly housing report, VAR reported that median home prices in Halifax County rose between 10 to 20 percent year-to-date through November.

The data is based on a declining number of sales as the inventory of homes and properties for sale runs low. Spainhour said farm properties for sale, in particular, have been scarce. “We really haven’t had that many sales of them in the past year,” he said.

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