The average value of homes in Fairfax County, Virginia, increased since last year, and that will likely mean higher real estate tax bills this year, according to a new report.
The Fairfax County 2021 real estate assessments report shows that 88% of homes in the county have increased in value on average by about 4.25%. That brings the average home price up to $607,752 this year — compared to last year’s average assessment of $582,976.
The reason for the rise is record low interest rates and low inventory. That’s good news for those looking to sell their homes at a premium price.
Most but not all homes went up in value. While 88% of residential properties saw increased assessments, 4.4% went down and 7.6% stayed where they were.
Town houses and duplexes saw the greatest increase at 5.13%, followed by condominiums at 4.62% and then single-family houses at 4.17%.
The rise in home price value also means a rise in tax assessments. Broken down by district, here are the changes in average real estate tax assessments:
- Lee: 6.32%
- Mount Vernon: 5.29%
- Mason: 5.13%
- Braddock: 5.06%
- Springfield: 4.89%
- Sully: 4.6%
- Providence: 3.91%
- Hunter Mill: 3.67%
- Dranesville: 2.53%
The news was not as good for nonresidential real estate values (commercial, industrial and rental apartments). Their assessments dropped by 4.05% on average.
The report notes that during the pandemic, commercial real estate, especially restaurants, retail and hotels, declined in value because of an increase in vacancies, collection loss and overall market risk.
While there is a proposal to reduce the real estate tax rate by a penny this year, that potential reduction will be offset by the assessment increase. So, most people on average will still see a higher tax bill this year.
Even with a tax cut to $1.14 per $100 of assessed value, the average property tax bill would go up $224.15.
