More homes in Sedgwick County lose value than gain

Nearly twice as many Sedgwick County homes lost value as gained it last year, the county appraiser reported Wednesday.

Fifteen percent of county homeowners had their property tax appraisals go up, while 29 percent got a decrease. Fifty-six percent had no change.

Whether that’s good news or bad depends on your point of view.

If you plan to live in your house a long time, a drop in valuation is probably good because it means you’ll pay less in taxes.

If you’re planning to sell your home soon, you’d probably prefer an increase in valuation to drive a higher listing price.

The median home sale price went up last year, from $138,400 to $141,900, said Michael Borchard, the county appraiser.

Most of the appraisal gains came on newer and more expensive homes, he said.

Borchard said there are essentially two different housing markets in the county, one for homes built before 1960 and one for homes built after that.

“The newer homes are showing a little more price appreciation than the older ones,” he said.

Valuation results for commercial property were fairly close to the same picture as the housing market – 17 percent went down, 26 percent went up and 57 percent were unchanged.

Tax appraisals on agricultural land were more volatile: 62 percent increased in value, 36 percent stayed the same, and 2 percent decreased in value.

About 67 percent of the land in Sedgwick County is agricultural, but it represents less than 1 percent of the county’s total assessed value, Borchard’s report said.

Valuation notices will be sent out March 1.

But there’s a better-than-average chance you won’t get one in your mailbox this year.

To save money, the county has adopted a new policy of mailing notices only on properties where the value has changed – about 45 percent of the properties in the county.

The change is expected to save $68,800 in mailing costs, Borchard said.

Those who don’t get a mailed notice can view their information online at www.sedgwickcounty.org beginning March 1.

Even if the value hasn’t changed, property owners have the right to appeal their valuation if they think it doesn’t reflect market value, Borchard said.

The total tax valuation of property in the county was up 2.5 percent to $3.977 billion, Borchard said.

Although more properties decreased in value than increased, the increases were generally on newer and more expensive properties, more than offsetting the loss of valuation on the properties that declined, he said.

New home construction dipped by 16 units to 1,018 last year but remained well above the levels seen in 2010 to 2012, according to Borchard’s report.

This story was originally published February 18, 2015 at 8:11 PM with the headline "More homes in Sedgwick County lose value than gain."