MoCo tax assessment for improvement value increases by over 50%

[Anonymous]

New tax assessment has increased by 20+ % over the last time. OK, fine.
But while assessed land value has increased slightly, the improvement value, that is the house, has increased by 54%!
The house is 30+ years old, there have been no renovations or improvements since day 1, and it’s 3 years older since the last tax assessment.
What gives? If calculation is based on cost vale, surely construction cost hasn’t gone up by 50%.
Do others see the same trend on their assessments?

[Anonymous]

You said the overall increase has been 20% (which includes the 54% increase you mentioned). 20% is totally normal for MoCo over the past three years. When your property value goes up, the land value as well as the improvements value both go up, even if you've made no improvements -- that's what housing appreciation is. If appreciation was only based on the value of the improvements, then houses would be like cars, and their value would go down over time.

[Anonymous]

Land vs improvements is usually just a formula (like 2/3 land vs 1/3 improvements). All that matters is the overall assessment.

[Anonymous]

Ngl, construction costs have gone up by a massive %. Materials, labor, etc.

Compared to 2019? Yes, it would probably cost 50% more to rebuild your house from scratch. My guess is that 3 years ago the county was being conservative due to the fallout from COVID and probably held back a bit on increasing the values.

I live in DC. If I wanted to add a level to my rowhouse, it would cost a minimum of $500k these days. It’s crazy.

[Anonymous]

OP here:
It’s not the total assessment I’m asking about- it’s the increase in assessment by improvement cost over the last 3 years minus depreciation.

For people in MD, does your assessment increase consist mainly of increase in building cost?

[Anonymous]

OP: previous assessment was about 2/3 land, 1/3 house, now it’s about 50/50

[Anonymous]

MoCo is going broke and this is the only way for them to increase revenue. They areclosing offices and residents and I am concerned it has signs of Baltimore in the making.

[Anonymous]

This is what happens when we don’t build enough housing. Houses should depreciate because you “consume” the good over time. Housing as an investment creates all kinds of perverse incentives and discord.

[Anonymous]

MoCo has a very high rate of funding going towards section 8 and how do you think they would support that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Land vs improvements is usually just a formula (like 2/3 land vs 1/3 improvements). All that matters is the overall assessment.

It’s a formula for condos like that. For houses. Still a formula but lot size, year house built, square footage and assessor impression of quality level are factored into the formula, along with other criteria (bedrooms, bathrooms, etc)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MoCo is going broke and this is the only way for them to increase revenue. They areclosing offices and residents and I am concerned it has signs of Baltimore in the making.

It's fun to make up random statements and provide no support for any of them. The county is doing fine, the county has not raised property tax rates (unlike Arlington, which has done so for two years in a row), and the higher assessments that people are seeing accurately reflect their property values.

I am highly confident that if these folks complaining consulted with a reputable real estate agent or appraiser, they'd discover that the assessment is accurate, and they'd price the house at or above the assessment if they were trying to sell. Real estate values have gone up dramatically in MoCo, plain and simple, and when people go to sell, they're going to make lots of money that will far exceed the increase in taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here:
It’s not the total assessment I’m asking about- it’s the increase in assessment by improvement cost over the last 3 years minus depreciation.

For people in MD, does your assessment increase consist mainly of increase in building cost?

My land increased 5% and my house +83%. It’s ridiculous. You can email them and ask them for the worksheet on your house and the comps that are leading them to this.

[Anonymous]

Remember this when you vote in local elections in 2026. Without touching tax rates, the MoCo and MD governments bring in more revenue because our property values are up = more property taxes for them.

Yet, they still propose raising many taxes to cover the budget. Right now, the governor has proposed raising inocme taxes on the higher end taxpayers; increasing sin taxes; adding sales tax on servcices like plumbers and hair dressers, and more. Apparently the additinoal property tax revenue was not enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Remember this when you vote in local elections in 2026. Without touching tax rates, the MoCo and MD governments bring in more revenue because our property values are up = more property taxes for them.

Yet, they still propose raising many taxes to cover the budget. Right now, the governor has proposed raising inocme taxes on the higher end taxpayers; increasing sin taxes; adding sales tax on servcices like plumbers and hair dressers, and more. Apparently the additinoal property tax revenue was not enough.

And how would that change who you vote for?
I'm annoyed my taxes are going up (and state income taxes will go up for my bracket in Maryland). However, I'm not voting for women to lose their rights to healthcare or for ICE to be allowed to raid my kid's schools. I'd like better gun control and I'd like a state and local government who doesn't agree with the felon in the White House who is saying they will lower taxes but who is actually raising them for everyone except the wealthy.

There are two types of politicians - those who are honest about tax hikes, what they are for and that they will try to be fair and those who say they won't raise taxes but do so anyway and then lie to you or blame others.

We should all appeal it because it is our right to do so and we want to ensure it's correct and fair. Our leaders need to hear our concerns. We should also be grateful we live in a county and state that are run by intelligent and empathetic leaders (yes those two works = woke for those who don't know the definition). We still have a voice on a state and local level even if it's gone on the federal level.

As Trump gets worse and tries to dismantle our democracy, we will be increasingly lucky to live in an area like this. You get what you pay for and the safety of my family is worth a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remember this when you vote in local elections in 2026. Without touching tax rates, the MoCo and MD governments bring in more revenue because our property values are up = more property taxes for them.

Yet, they still propose raising many taxes to cover the budget. Right now, the governor has proposed raising inocme taxes on the higher end taxpayers; increasing sin taxes; adding sales tax on servcices like plumbers and hair dressers, and more. Apparently the additinoal property tax revenue was not enough.

And how would that change who you vote for?
I'm annoyed my taxes are going up (and state income taxes will go up for my bracket in Maryland). However, I'm not voting for women to lose their rights to healthcare or for ICE to be allowed to raid my kid's schools. I'd like better gun control and I'd like a state and local government who doesn't agree with the felon in the White House who is saying they will lower taxes but who is actually raising them for everyone except the wealthy.

There are two types of politicians - those who are honest about tax hikes, what they are for and that they will try to be fair and those who say they won't raise taxes but do so anyway and then lie to you or blame others.

We should all appeal it because it is our right to do so and we want to ensure it's correct and fair. Our leaders need to hear our concerns. We should also be grateful we live in a county and state that are run by intelligent and empathetic leaders (yes those two works = woke for those who don't know the definition). We still have a voice on a state and local level even if it's gone on the federal level.

As Trump gets worse and tries to dismantle our democracy, we will be increasingly lucky to live in an area like this. You get what you pay for and the safety of my family is worth a lot.

MD small business owner here. They can do all those morally good things and not raise taxes too. A big chunk of the increase in spending is for the "blueprint for Maryland" (Kirwan commission education spending. Yet throwing money at the problem doesn't necessarily mean better outcomes. The highest spending per student school districts in MD are often the poorest-performing.

Meanwhile, the propsoed budget will mean service businesses need to start charging sales tax -- this is a massive undertaking and huge cost in productivity too. MD takes few steps to be pro-business.