HAMPTON’S HOUSING ASSESSMENTS SPIKE
City reports the value of more than 90% of homes increased during the pandemic
There are plenty of signs that the 12 months of the pandemic have brought many problems to the economy — but the housing market is cruising right along.
Hampton’s annual city residential housing assessment notifications went out last month — and values rose almost across the board. The city reported that the value of more than 90% of homes in the city had increased. Meanwhile, the value of roughly 65% of commercial properties had decreased.
That means a homeowner could expect a better selling price but definitely must expect a higher real-estate tax bill during a pandemic.
“Right now, a lot of homeowners can’t pay or are losing their homes, not having jobs or being able to earn a living,” said Rico McClean, a Hampton homeowner, who says his assessment went up 6%. “They wait for stimulus checks, some that have been received, too little too late because they’re already behind in arrears. I believe this time is needed for the economy to recover.”
The total number units sold regionally has increased 30% from the prior year, from 1,594 to 2,080, but overall active housing inventory has sharply declined, a January Long & Foster Market
Conditions report said. Homes are selling quickly, with the average numbers of days on the market ranging from 26 to 41.
Median sale prices around Hampton Roads also have risen 9% — from $234,000 in 2019 to $255,000 in 2020, according to a January 2021 economic forecast report from the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy at Old Dominion University. Regionally, Newport News median sale prices also have jumped 24%, while Norfolk had an 18% bump compared to last year, according to data from the Real Estate Information Network.
In Hampton, median home prices $218,000, up 16% from a year ago and 172 homes sold in January, according to Long & Foster.
There are myriad of factors why the housing market is faring well in the middle of a pandemic, Vinod Agarwal, an economist with ODU, says.
Home sales also are good because mortgage rates are at a record low of roughly 3%, Agarwal said. Demand increased and homes are selling rapidly, but supply is not keeping pace, so that drives up prices.
Some of those who work from home and wanted more space contributed to the demand, and the oldest members of the millennial generation entered the market for the first time as well.
Hampton has received 230 inquiries from residents about their assessment since notices went out mid-February, higher than usual, city officials said. There are 30 appeals being looked at internally at the city’s Office of Review, roughly twice what received the previous year, and only one formal appeal before the Board of Review. Hampton hears appeals through March 15.
The city has a finance committee that reviews the assessments and what impact it would have on the tax rate in relation to the consumer price index for all urban consumers, Councilwoman Chris Snead, who heads that committee, said. Hampton’s current tax rate is $1.24 per $100 of assessed value.
“Our assessments are supposed to be 100% of what the selling price is,” she said.
City Manager Mary Bunting said with rising assessments, the city is weighing some actions it could take.
“The way you would mitigate it is to do a tax (rate) decrease,” Bunting said during a February council work session. “We have a financial guideline that suggests that we look at that when assessments are growing. We don’t know if we can or can’t, but we were talking about it. It’s way too early to tell.”