This year is a reassessment year for real property in Missouri, so assessors throughout the state are going to update the property values that tax assessments are based upon. According to state law, the value should reflect the value of the property as of January 1, 2019. Reassessment is done every two years, so the prior reassessment was in 2017. Given that the real estate market has been performing well now for the past several years, and property values are increasing, it’s not surprising that most property owners will see an increase in their assessment from the 2017 value to the 2019 value. However, homeowners in St Louis County have been particularly vocal about their dissatisfaction with the amount of the increase. An article on STL Today earlier this week shared the story of a Kirkwood couple that said: “We feel like we are being ripped off by the county” after the St Louis County assessor increased the value of their home 153% from the prior value two years before. According to the STL Today article, the preliminary figures from Jake Zimmerman, the St Louis County Assessor, show the median increase in assessment was 15% from the last assessment in 2017.
How does the St Louis County Assessors 15% Increase in property values compare with the market data?
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It’s not inconceivable that Jake Zimmerman could be right and home values in St Louis County have increased 15% in the past two years. However, as our market data below shows (based upon data from the REALTOR® MLS) it appears to be much higher than reality:
- For the period October 1, 2016 – January 1, 2017 (the 3 months proceeding the reassessment in 2017) below is the housing market data:
- The median price of homes sold (non-distressed sales, homes) was $201,000.
- For the period October 1, 2018 – January 1, 2019 (the 3 months proceeding the reassessment in 2017) below is the housing market data:
- The median price of homes sold (non-distressed sales, homes) was $208,000.
Based upon the data above, the actual median price of homes sold in St Louis County increased $7,000 from the 2017 Reassessment period to the 2019 Reassessment period. This represents an increase of just 3.5% well below the St Louis County Assessors median increase of 15% so maybe St Louis County homeowners do have a reason to be unhappy.
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