Assessments are coming soon across the state. Hold your breath.

Every two years, assessors throughout Colorado send out notices that offer “the latest review of business and residential property values.”

The notices are going out in the mail this week for those owning property in Denver. New tax bills will arrive early next year. The last assessment (2016-2018) indicated that values increased 20 percent across the city. The valuations overall will be lower this year. But. . . not always.

Below are links to two stories that give a snapshot of how different parts of the city (and the state) are changing. Some of this information is troubling, since areas with more “affordable” homes are skyrocketing in value. And since commercial properties – such as apartment buildings – are assessed at even higher rates.

From CPR:

“Neighborhoods and counties with more affordable homes saw the biggest jumps in assessed value. In Denver, neighborhoods like Globeville and Villa Park saw median assessed values jump 53 percent and 43 percent respectively.”

https://www.cpr.org/news/story/in-the-denver-market-your-home-value-may-be-rising-but-so-could-your-taxes?mc_cid=5be5677080&mc_eid=41cc6690bf

From The Denver Post:

“. . . there were wide variations in the size of gains. Sun Valley homes shot up 57 percent in value, while in Globeville they rose 53 percent, and in Elyria Swansea they were up 41.3 percent.

“Denver’s western and southwestern neighborhoods also had bigger increases in value, including Villa Park, up 43 percent; Overland, up 37.5 percent; Westwood, up 36.8 percent; and Barnum West, up 34.9 percent.”

And: “The average gain in apartment building values was much higher, 40 percent, including a 50 percent increase in the eastern half of the county. . . . Commercial property values rose 20 percent, agricultural property values rose 14 percent and vacant land values rose 53 percent.”

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/04/25/metro-denver-property-values-rise/

This is concerning in so many ways – but mainly the potential for squeezing more owners who could afford the property, but can’t afford the taxes. Gentrification has been an issue in the upcoming municipal election, and will continue well into the future.

For more detailed information, here’s the link to Denver’s Assessor’s Office:

https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/denver-department-of-finance/newsroom/news-releases/2019/Metro-Area-Assessors-Announce-New-Real-Property-Valuations-for-2019-.html

And how to protest your valuation in Denver:

https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/assessors-office/protesting-your-property-value.html

Then, we read that an affordable project with housing and workspace for artists with real potential has been lost. The headline in a recent Westword story says it all: Artspace Plan to Build Affordable Artist Housing Fails in RiNo.

https://www.westword.com/arts/artspace-plan-to-build-affordable-housing-for-artists-fails-in-rino-11311127?mc_cid=5be5677080&mc_eid=41cc6690bf

Finally, here are two links that report even more problematic issues in terms of land prices in other parts of the country. The first is a piece that ran in The Chicago Tribune and was picked up by Architectural Record about rising rents in parts of that city.

https://www.architecturalrecord.com/external_headlines/story?region=ar&story_id=rBCydYdzT-XPT81RQPYVANMFod0RKapR1HJ9qBF8hkd7026ADU099Z2AuAtrY1JUefEoGTPMpI2ydrXqadqMQASVrhyIuXcbouAcWoMyxCisgQGqIH2OWA7xIbAoW0oh&images_premium=1&define_caption=1&oly_enc_id=3882A8353267G9W

But the whopper of the week is a story from the San Jose Mercury News on the high cost of land in the Bay Area, also picked up by Architectural Record. The headline is an eye-opener: New Bay Area Crown: Most Expensive Place to Build in the World.

http://enews-bnp.com/portal/wts/ucmcmQ%5EdyAebbdg9a98s4arbf8ezbj-XF%5Ezd4ncJa