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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/10/2026 - Real Estate Reassessment Overview Real Estate Reassessment Overview Briefing to the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors February 10, 2026 ROANOKE OCOUNTY VIRGINIA F.,ti it8 4'. Why Real Estate Tax? • Virginia is a "Dillon Rule" state in which the Virginia General Assembly dictates what local governments are able to tax and how • Unlike many states, in Virginia local School Boards do not have any taxing authority so local funding for schools is collected by the local government • For most county governments in Virginia, real estate tax is the #1 source of revenue • In other states that rely less on real estate taxes to fund local government, there are higher (often local) sales taxes, local income taxes, and otter forms of local taxation that generate the revenue used to fund local government operations ROANOKE flitipi COUNTY 2VIRGINIA EST.1838 Where does the money Adopted Budget 7-1-2025 Support Community Education Public Safety & Human $106.33 $78.96 Functions $32.68 Services $32.06 12.01% 11.78% Investment in Capital Regional & County Debt Service Programs 39.06% 29.01% $14.07 $8.09 5.17% 2.97% 3 ROANOKE diti COUNT)' VIRGINIA FAST. I838 How the Assessment Process works • Virginia law requires real estate to be regularly assessed at 100% of fa i r market value, meaning what the property is likely to be able to be sold for on the open market on the effective date of the assessment • Roanoke County has over 46,000 parcels of land and related improvements that are assessed every year • Roanoke County employs in-house appraisers who are very familiar with the County and its neighborhoods • The accuracy of our process is verified by a number of metrics and our results are very strong 4 ROANOKE Oh COUNTY VIRGINIA 1ST. 1838 How is an individual home valued ? • The value of homes is ultimately determined by the local real estate market • Sales of comparable homes within an individual neighborhood have the strongest influence on assessed values • Changes to homes such as additions, renovations, finished basements, new decks, and other improvements are considered • Information sources include building permits, aerial imagery, and real estate listings, in addition to staff spending time in individual neighborhoods • Home values are also influenced by sales within similar neighborhoods in given areas of the County 5 ROANOKE Ai COUNTY ;s How accurate are the values ? • Real estate values can be verified by actual home sales • State Code requires homes to be valued at 100%. Currently Roanoke County stands at 94% based on the most recent sales values • It is important to note that 94% is the median for the entire County, as individual sales are influenced by a wide variety of factors such as number of available homes at the time of the sale, season, etc. • We also perform extremely well in measures for fairness across the County and across different value ranges 6 ROANOKE It COUNTY VIRGINIA (ti1. 1838 Assessment Accuracy Measure IAAO Standard Roanoke County as of November 7, 2025 Sales Ratio: a ratio of assessment value to sales price 91% to 105% 94.0% Coefficient of Dispersion (COD): indicates how tightly the ratios are clustered around the 5% to 15% 6.22% median ratio. The lower the COD, the greater uniformity in appraised values. Price Related Differential (PRD): measures the equity between low value and high value properties. A PRD greater than one implies that higher 0.98% to 1.03% 1.007% priced properties have lower average assessment ratios than lower priced homes. 7 ROANOKE ,y) COUNTY Vu:GINi;\ ��►1��t EST. 1838 If I think myvaluation is too high , what can I dot • First, ask yourself the question: If I were to sell my house today would I be willing to sell it for the amount of my County assessment? • Has there been a change in your neighborhood or to your home that may have influenced its value such as a new deck or a renovation project? • Does your assessment seem to be in line with recent home sales within your neighborhood? • If you still have concerns, there is a formal process through which you can contest your valuation 8 ROANOKE 01114 COUNTY VIRGINIA EST. 1838 Board of Equalization Process • Gives property owners a formal mechanism through which to contest the valuation of individual properties • Last year 9 cases were submitted to the BOE with values modified in 6 cases out of 46,000+ parcels • The Board of Equalization is appointed by the courts • Consists of county residents, one from each of 5 magisterial districts • At least 30% of the members of the board shall be residential or commercial real estate appraisers, or other real estate professionals, builders, developers, or legal or financial professionals • Property owner or representative presents evidence to the board • Board of Equalization renders a decision based on preponderance of evidence and the property owner is notified by mail 9ROANOKE �' COUNTY VII(INIA X. i, EST. 1838 So , what about my tax bill ? • During the budget process, the Board of Supervisors sets the Real Estate Tax Rate • The Board of Supervisors does not have the legal authority to lower the goal of valuing real estate at 100% of market value as this is restricted by State Code • Since 2022, the Real Estate Tax Rate has been reduced from $1.09 per hundred to the current rate of $1.03 per hundred • Prior to 2022, the tax rate had not been reduced since 2006 • Tax rate reductions are considered each year with this year's rates being set on April 7, 2026 • While cooling recently, inflation has been high 10 ROANOKE OCOUNTY VIRGINIA � H EST.1838 Assessment Growth History with Inflation and Net of Inflation Assessment Growth With Inflation and Net of Inflation 2016 through 2026 12% - c 11.13% 0 ro 10% - 8.63% c 7.75% `">`"' 7.47% -a 8% - 6.72% I 6.22% a '' A 6% - ..96% 4.58% 1 4.75% 3.83% 11•16 • 4% - ° 3.20% 3.15% 414 2.89% aci 1.58% 1.92% 2.52/o ° 1.9 7 io 3.68% o ♦ — — — ♦ — • • • E 2% ° 2.36% 1.76/o ,-.�' 3.24/0 2.60% 2.89% 2.89% "�"°' 1.64% 2.04/o 44°� .8�}LAlS L3 ° [ i? Q0% 4 , i 1.18% , i , i i i i -2%ro - 0.06% -0.12% -0.16% 0.79% L w p -4% - o 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 > Projected* 'Assessment Growth Assessment Growth Net of Inflation -I--Inflation *As of November 7,2025 *Inflation calculated based Consumer Price Index data from the US Bureau of labor Statistics for October of each year. 11 ROANOKE tillYCOUNTY__ VIRGINIA EST. 1838 Why can ' t my tax bill just be the same every year? • Different homes in different neighborhoods experience value changes differently so there is no general mechanism through which individual bills could be frozen and even if this could be done, it would be unfair to the residents whose homes gained market value more slowly as they would soon be paying more, relatively speaking, than residents whose homes are gaining value more quickly • The County's operations experience inflation that is higher than that experienced by typical homeowner so flat bill would require annual cuts to important services such as our schools, police, fire and rescue, trash collection etc. • Other revenue sources such as sales tax collections, which are currently coming in below our budgeted projections, have not performed as well 12 ROANOKE COUNTY VIRGINIA (IS EST 1838 So , what is the answer? • Housing study currently underway to examine policy actions the Board could take to encourage additional housing supply to reduce the rate of home price increases • Evaluate the real estate tax rate during the budget process • Continue to evaluate and implement operational efficiencies • Consider cuts to services and / or level of services • Continue efforts to attract additional commercial and industrial investment in the County to increase non-residential real estate tax revenues • Understand that home equity is the #1 source of individual wealth in the US and that Roanoke County is a very attractive place to live which is both a challenge and a blessing for our homeowners 13 ROANOKE *14 � Cot ]IN VIRGINIA I ; ti