Prince George's County Reports Loss in Property Value

One-third of Maryland homeowners are due to receive tax reassessment notices, on the average showing a 22 percent loss in property value, the Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday.

Prince George's County will be hardest hit, with an average home plummeting 35 percent, compared to its worth three years ago. State assessors plan to announce the details this week, which will bear direct impact on about 740,000 homes.

While Maryland's tax assessment method reveals value shifts in three year increments, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Schiller index released Tuesday shows that homes in major metropolitan areas across the country continue to fall in value, and are not expected to recover soon.

"What goes up must come down," goes the adage. If you consider Newton's Third Law – which certainly rings true in the current value plunge – it comes down with the same speed it rose. Today's housing market shows the counties dropping fastest "had the most rapidly rising assessments when the market was very overheated," according to Robert Young, acting deputy director of the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, who was interviewed by the Sun.

This week, Patch talked with Henry Sikorski, supervisor of Real Property Assessments, about the impact the reassessments will have on Prince George's County.

One of the factors playing into home taxes relates to the additional fees the county tacks on. Although no Maryland jurisdiction has set their tax rate for next year, Sikorski said Prince George's residents can expect to pay more.

"Prince George's has a lot of other fees," he said. "I don't know of another jurisdiction that has fees attached to the tax bill that are as significant as Prince George's County."

Despite this, some new homeowners could see a reduction in taxes as their reassessment may come in showing a reduction from 2007's value. Plus, many owners, under the protection of the Homestead Credit, are now taxed based on an assessment that is lower than their home's real market value – and may still realize lower taxes with the reassessment.

Homeowners in Prince George's County may not be able to immediately discern their property tax based on the new reassessments, however, because the additional fees the county adds on are not always easily understood, according to Sikorski.

"So it's difficult to determine," he said.

Those who disagree with their reassessments have recourse: They can appeal, if they submit a petition to review within 45 days of receiving the notice.