Home values to jump (Anchorage, Alaska)
FACTORS: Low inventories, low interest rates conspire to send housing valuations up 10 percent.
By Tony Hopfinger
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: February 23, 2002)
Anchorage housing property valuations will jump on average 10 percent this year amid one of the hottest markets since the oil boom of the early 1980s.
The city announced the valuation increase Friday, stressing a 10 percent spike doesn't necessarily mean property taxes will also climb 10 percent.
Most tax rates in Anchorage should drop this year, counteracting the higher valuations, said city assessor Marty McGee.
The 10 percent increase compares to an average of 6.7 percent last year, he said.
Owners of condominiums and some multifamily housing will see an average valuation increase of 16 percent, the biggest of any residential sector, he said.
A low housing inventory, growing sales and low interest rates are among the factors driving up valuations. New houses have also increased the value of existing homes.
The average price for a single-family house sold in December was about $212,500, up from$193,500 a year earlier. The number of houses listed by real estate agents in December was at its second lowest in a decade, according to Multiple Listing Service. MLS tracks most properties on the market but not for-sale-by-owner houses and some others.
As for commercial property valuations, McGee said office buildings will see the biggest increases this year, in the double digits on average. Retail and hotel property owners will see lesser increases.
Office space is tight, with climbing rental rates and low vacancies.
The city plans to mail the new valuations March 1 to Anchorage's 90,000 property owners, he said. |
