An ebb tide of property values and glut of ‘for sale’ signs has Middletown officials thinking this might not be he best time for a revaluation, today’s Asbury Park Press reports.
Township officials have hired a taxation law expert to tell them if they have a case for asking the Monmouth County Board of Taxation for a reprieve on doing a reval that uses Oct. 1 as the reference date.
From the story:
“Our concern is that if the values are so off, the number of (tax) appeals will be very high,” Middletown Deputy Mayor Pamela Brightbill said.
Citing an “ever-increasing number of “for sale’ signs,” news that properties are not selling and a rising number of foreclosures, Brightbill said there has been growing concern that the updated property values will be inflated if the market continues downward.
The story cites data showing falling new-home sales and late mortgage payments at a 20-year high, and goes on to say:.
It is unclear how the county tax board would respond if presented with Middletown’s case.
“In the past, when presented with concerns of market deviation, the Monmouth County tax board has always referenced their obligation to implement the revaluation in a timely manner,” Monmouth County Tax Administrator Matthew S. Clark said.
“We have not extended a revaluation in writing because we’ve always felt that presented problems with our requirement to reanalyze the data utilized by the noncompliant municipality.”
