St. Charles County residents will be receiving their property value assessments next month, preliminary numbers show that overall residential values have slid downward over the past two years.
County Assessor Scott Shipman says in general, residential property values are down about 4 percent.
He says foreclosures and new developments that were left vacant during the recession are largely to blame for the overall decline.
“There’s 8,000 vacant lots ready to be built upon,” Shipman says. “If you look at 1,400 or 1,500 new single family permits being issued over the last couple of years, that’s a pretty long absorption rate.”
There was, however, a bright spot in the numbers.
“We did notice a small uptick about the last quarter or so with values, but it’s not enough to pull that trend all the way forward,” Shipman says.
Shipman is quick to point out that each property is different, and that residents have ten days after receiving the notice to file an informal appeal.
The initial numbers also show the average residential property value was down for every school district in the county. The Francis Howell School District had the biggest drop, with values slipping by more than 5.5 percent.
