On Real Estate, Foreclosures, Assessments, Revaluation and Economics: Jordan Green: Awesome Investigative Reporting

"...as an indication of how sluggish the market is in Guilford and Forsyth counties,
the average foreclosed home is currently assessed at $118,807 for tax purposes,
but is selling at auction for $88,746.

That’s a markdown of 33.9 percent.

...The average house in Forsyth and Guilford counties loses $30,061 in value
each time a foreclosure sale is consummated.

Consider that a total of 6,497 foreclosures were filed in the two counties last year.

If even one in five of those houses were saved
— and sometimes people avert foreclosures through personal bankruptcy or loan modifications
— that still represents a drain-off of $156.2 million in personal wealth across the region.

On average, foreclosures in the two counties involve a loss of 38 cents
for every dollar of assessed tax value.

...Counties across the state that are revaluating property values
are facing something unprecedented in recent memory.

Property almost always appreciates as a rule,
but now most market values are well below assessed tax valuation.

...“I’ve been in this business 27 years,” Chavis said.
“You’ve never seen a county lose tax base from a real property standpoint.

The tax base has always been appreciating as long as I’ve been in this business.”

Guilford County has witnessed 21,871 foreclosures since its last tax revaluation in 2004...

...During a recent community budget meeting, Starmount Forest resident Bob Skenes
told Greensboro City Manager Rashad Young what he already knew.

“Next year’s going to be worst than you think,” Skenes said.

...A shrinking tax base has obvious implications.

“Carteret County down on the coast lost $4 billion of their real estate base,”
Forsyth County Tax Director Pete Rodda said.

“They went from $18 billion to $14 billion.

You know they’re going to have to make some pretty substantial adjustments.”

County and municipal governments that end up with a shrunken tax base
will have to choose between accepting reduced revenues and defunding services
or raising their tax rates to maintain neutral revenue.

“Any conversation that begins with ‘tax increase’ is going to be a hard one to have,” Young said.

“If that’s the option on the table, then we’re going to have to have a tough conversation.”

Jordan Green

http://www.uncg.edu/bae/cber/tbi/apr12/index.htm