PLAISTOW — As local home prices continue to plummet, commercial properties will likely bear more of the tax burden next year, the town's assessing agent said.
When Wil Corcoran does a reassessment of Plaistow property values this summer, residential properties are all going to see a decrease, he said.
Corcoran met with selectmen last week to share the past year's housing sales and foreclosure statistics and warn that values are about to drop because of the slumping housing market.
But Corcoran said he has not seen a change in the commercial market. So a decrease in residential values means the town's 266 "investment grade" commercial properties will be paying more in taxes than in previous years, he said.
"Coincidentally, even if we left commercials alone, that would happen," Corcoran said.
Property values for condominiums and single-family homes are expected to drop to be more in line with the market, Corcoran said. In 2004, there were 148 sales in town, but last year there were only 65, he said.
And, beginning in June 2007, those homes began selling for less than their assessed value, he said. Single-family homes now sell for about 5 percent less than their assessed value and condominiums for about 8 percent less, he said.
Foreclosed homes that are put back on the market will only bring prices down in the future, Corcoran said.
For example, if a bank is asking $180,000 for a ranch and the homeowner is seeking $240,000, the homeowner is going to drop the price, he said.
The number of foreclosures in Plaistow could increase by about 350 percent this year, Corcoran speculated. There were seven foreclosures in 2006 and eight in 2007. For the first three months of 2008, there were already seven, he said.
Selectmen Chairman John Sherman said when home values rose a few years ago, selectmen promised the assessments would drop if there was proof they should. He said Corcoran's statistics show this will likely happen this year.
Corcoran said he would meet with selectmen again in mid-June with more research to decide which property types should see drops in revaluation. Instead of decreasing everyone's value by 10 percent, he plans to propose smaller drops for different kinds of homes.
