2006 PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS REFLECT HIGHER VALUES 

Owners of 273,550 parcels of real estate on Oahu will receive their 2006 real property assessment notices this week. Because of rising real estate prices, the assessed valuation for most parcels will be higher than in previous years. 

The total gross assessed valuation of all real property on Oahu is $166.2 billion, an increase of 25.9 percent over last year.  More than half of that – $100.9 billion – is for improved residential property, which increased by 27.8 percent islandwide. The increases are not due only to rising sale prices. Construction of new homes and improvements to existing ones also drive total assessed valuations higher.

The percentage changes represent broad totals. The assessed value of a particular piece of  property could have gone up more or less than the islandwide figure.

            The new assessed valuations are based on sales of similar properties in each neighborhood

 from July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005. The valuations were set as of October 1. The median sales price (Honolulu Board of Realtors data) for single-family homes at the end of September 2005 was

$615,000 compared to $460,000 for the full year in 2004, an increase of 33.5 percent.  The median price for condominiums as of September was $280,000, compared to $208,500 for the full year in 2004, an increase of 34.3 percent.

Hotel and resort property values increased by 22.6 percent, while commercial and industrial properties rose in value by 13.8 percent and 11.5 percent respectively.

            An assessment notice is not a tax bill, but simply a statement of what the City has determined to be your property’s value. The notice includes information on deductions for which the owner is eligible. (Eight exemptions are available. The standard homeowner’s exemption is $40,000. That increases for homeowners 55 and older who apply for and obtain an age exemption.) Subtract those exemptions from the assessed valuation to get your property’s net assessed value. That net figure plays a major role in determining the amount of property tax you’ll owe the City next fiscal year (July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007). The actual amount of taxes owed is determined by multiplying the net assessed valuation by the appropriate tax rate, which will be set by the City Council next spring as it finalizes the budget for fiscal year 2007.

            If you wish to dispute your assessment, the deadline for filing an appeal is January 17, 2006.

Property owners who have not received their 2006 Assessment Notice by December 31 are advised to contact the Real Property Assessment Division at:

·       842 Bethel Street, Basement, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 (phone 527-5539 or 527-5510)

·       1000 Uluohia Street, No. 206, Kapolei, Hawaii 96707 (phone 692-5541).

Property owners may also e-mail the division at bfsrpmailbox@honolulu.gov

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Contact:

            Gary Kurokawa, Real Property Assessment Division Administration, 527-5502