Sonoma County real estate worth most in history

After significant recovery in the local real estate market, the Sonoma County property tax assessment roll came in at $85.5 billion, an increase of 5.46 percent from last year’s total.

This is the highest valuation the roll has had to date, according to the county assessor.

This growth was due to increases in market value for sold properties, a slight uptick in new construction, Consumer Price Index adjustment, and continued restoration of many assessments that were temporarily reduced due to the real estate recession (Proposition 8 assessments).

“This is the fifth consecutive year that Sonoma County has experienced positive assessment roll growth,” said Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Shirlee Zane. “While we are pleased to see the continued growth, it is important to recognize that post-recession growth is slowing, highlighting the importance of living within our financial means as a county.”

Some residential property owners will see either an increase in assessed value or a full restoration of their Proposition 13 base year value, Zan said. Since 2007, the Sonoma County Assessor’s office has been reviewing thousands of properties in response to property owner requests as well as proactively reviewing assessed values countywide.

At the height of the real estate recession, more than 62,000 property values, approximately half of the residential properties in Sonoma County, were temporarily reduced under these provisions. For the 2017-2018 assessment roll, only 11,273 property assessments remain in the decline status.

“The increase in home values is consistent with what both homeowners and potential buyers have seen over the last few years,” said County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor William F. Rousseau. “As more properties restore to their base value, we would expect to see Assessment Roll growth slow.”

The 2017-18 assessed values and value notices are now available on the assessor’s website