Redmond residents will have to dig deeper into their pocketbooks when they receive their 2011 King County property tax bills this week.
The good news is that assessed home values nudged up a bit in Redmond this year — a good sign compared to last year when property values plummeted. However, voter-approved levies and bonds will mean a tax hike of around 6 percent for Redmond homeowners, according to numbers released last week by the King County Assessor’s Office.
Tax bills, based on property values of Jan. 1, 2010, were mailed to property owners on Monday. Payments are due in two installments, on May 2 (this deadline was extended because the normal deadline of April 30 falls on a Saturday) and Oct. 31.
The tax bill of the average $445,900 house in Redmond will rise by $260.57 — or 6.2 percent — to $4,476. Last year, the average assessed value of Redmond homes was $444,600, meaning average property values increased up by $1,300 or .3 percent.
Last year, average property values in Redmond declined by 17.6 percent from 2009, so this year’s slight bump in property values shows some optimism for Redmond homeowners, according to County Chief Deputy Assessor John Wilson.
“Part of what we’ve found is that compared to last year, there are certain areas that are kicking back up and Redmond is one of them,” Wilson said of Redmond’s property value bump. “There are signs of a real estate turnaround in Redmond. It’s not the boom times of seven or eight years ago, but it’s not dropping 17 or 18 percent. People are starting to establish equity in their homes.”
King County Assessor Lloyd Hara agreed, saying that Redmond, with proximity to high-tech centers, such as Microsoft and Nintendo, and solid schools, is a desirable place to live.
“People want to live in and around Redmond and property values are reflective of that,” Hara said.
Hara said Redmond’s tax rate increase is driven mostly by previously voter-approved levies and bonds for the Lake Washington School District (LWSD), Evergreen Hospital District No. 2 and the King County Library System, showing that Redmond residents value their public schools, health facilities and libraries.
Redmond homeowners will pay a little more than $10 in taxes per $1,000 of their assessed home value. Of that $10, about $3.40 was set by voter-approved levies and bonds.
Washington state operates under a “budget-based” property system. That means taxing districts, such as fire, library, hospital and school districts — which can hike tax collections without voter approval by 1 percent a year plus tax on the value of new construction — submit their annual adopted budgets to Hara, who then determines the taxing rate that is necessary to meet the adopted budgets.
Tax collections countywide will increase 3.3 percent after total assessed value dropped 3.4 percent last year. This year’s property value drop is much better than the previous year’s 11.6 percent decrease, indicating a slowing of declining property values, Hara said.
For more information, contact the King County Assessor’s Office at (206)-296-7300. For assistance with tax matters, contact the King County Tax Advisor at (206)-263-9700.
