As city assessors forecasted, commercial property values aren’t keeping pace with the rapid increases on homes and apartments, leaving homeowners and renters to bear a greater burden of city taxes.
Overall commercial property value rose by about 42 percent as a result of Concord’s citywide property revaluation, compared to a roughly 62 percent increase for residential properties, according to figures published by the city.
This confirms what city officials have warned taxpayers to expect from the revaluation process: homeowners are now responsible for a growing share of the city’s tax dollars. Specifically, residential property is now about 3% more of the tax base than under the old assessments, according to a report from the city assessor.
Taxpayers are seeing the sticker shock of the change. About one in ten residential owners requested a hearing with the city to ask for their assessment to be adjusted, according to City Assessor Jonathan Rice.
“1,151 informal hearings for approximately 1,233 properties were conducted,” Rice reported to city leaders.
Taxpayers won’t know exactly what new values mean for their tax bills until the tax rate is set and released by the state. The rate is expected to fall compared to last year’s figure, but homeowners will still see their bill grow.
The finalized list of new assessments citywide is a trove of information about Concord. A few things of note:
- The highest valued property in the city was the Federal Courthouse on Pleasant Street, at $167 million. Concord Hospital, at $158 million, and the New Hampshire State Prison, at $118 million, rounded out the top three. None of these are taxed.
- Have you ever wondered how much the statehouse is worth? According to its property assessment, about $28 million. If that seems short, we also think so. (The new legislative parking garage alone cost almost that much). It’s not the only state-owned or tax-exempt property where the assessment is askew. Keep an eye out for future reporting about these kinds of assessments.
- A year ago, Concord had nine residential properties valued at $1 million or more. Now, there are 165.
- That pattern continues down the price scale. The state median home price is around $500,000. On last year’s tax rolls, there were only about 600 homes out of more than 12,000 valued at half a million or more. Now, after the revaluation, there are more than 4,000.
- While renters live in them, large apartment buildings (4 units and up) are assessed as commercial property. There are 294 such properties on the city’s rolls. On average, each one’s value increased by about the same percentage as single-family homes, a little more than 60%. If you’re a resident of one of these buildings, from the new apartments by the Concord Coach station up to Alton Woods off Loudon Road, you can check your valuation in the city’s datasheet, published on the revaluation project homepage.
