Experts are calculating how much your property is worth

Every private property in Rapphannock County will soon receive a new hypothetical price tag, on which the real estate will be taxed. e last reassessment took e ect in January 2016 based on analysis completed in 2015. Since then, according to Zillow, median housing prices in the county have surged to $417,448 from $340,523, a 23% jump. e rise in median property values is $79,925, and if that additional value were taxed at the current rate of $.73 per $100 in property value, the median homeowner would pay another $561, e ective January 2022. is probably won’t happen to many people — first, because many reassessments will be less than the median increase, and second because the Board of Supervisors, reflecting voter sentiment, historically prefers to keep taxes paid steady. So when assessments push up the taxable values for residents, the Board of Supervisors can cut the rate of taxation to keep tax bills where they have been. e job of assessing properties is contracted to Wingate Appraisal service, a private company. e firm says the objective is “to bring all assessments to 100% market value.” To do this, the company says it must consider construction materials, comparable sales and market rent. A challenge in Rappahannock is that no two properties are similar enough to compare easily and calibrate prices that would hold up in the real estate market. Some houses look out on a Blue Ridge panorama and others view the neighbors’ basketball hoop. For assessors it’s far simpler to value homes in cookie-cutter suburban developments. In the fall, property owners will get a mailing showing their new assessments. at mailing will spell out the dates and procedures for discussing an assessment, and, if the taxpayer chooses to, challenging it formally and demanding a change before it takes e ect.