County report shows residential property values rose dramatically in 2021
Tom Bordonaro Jr.
SLO County assessor releases annual report
– San Luis Obispo County Assessor Tom J. Bordonaro Jr. recently released the 2022-23 annual report. The county assessor is responsible for producing an assessment roll of all taxable properties in San Luis Obispo County as of Jan. 1st of each year. This annual listing of all properties and their assessed value provides the basis for the property tax system.
Bordonaro’s summary message is as follows:
I am pleased to present the 2022-23 Annual Report of the Office of the Assessor. This report provides information regarding the assessed valuation of all taxable property in San Luis Obispo County for 2021. This was a “wow” year for residential properties, and “not so much” for commercial and industrial businesses. My office has captured the reality of changing conditions in San Luis Obispo County in an assessment roll presented in this annual report.
The assessment roll is a record-setting value of $67 billion, representing a 6.8% increase over the roll last year. Over the past ten years, the assessed value of all taxable properties has increased from $41 billion in 2013 to over $67 billion today. Residential property has been red hot during the past year, a fact which is reflected in the 46.8% increase in changes in ownership. New construction added another 10.2% growth for real properties. Business property, on the other hand, produced 5.5% of the total roll increase. This fairly indicates that commercial and business activity was very modest and resulted in minor growth on the assessment roll. 2021 was a period of dramatic increase in the value of residential property in San Luis Obispo County.
Home values shot up significantly in every part of the county as real estate prices increased and listings of available homes were in very short supply. New construction and changes in ownership of residential properties showed the greatest single-year increase in over twenty years. Homeowners were selling for record-setting prices and there was an extremely limited inventory of homes available on the market. With this in mind, temporary value reductions (commonly called Prop 8) are no longer appropriate and will be removed on those properties where this applies. Commercial and industrial properties continue to experience difficulty bouncing back from the impact of government-imposed restrictions from the pandemic of the past two years.
Adding complexity to the valuation of properties is the impact of Proposition 19 which was passed by voters in 2020. Under this measure, some homeowners are moving and bringing with them their lower property tax base from the home that they sold. Another part of Prop 19 is creating a nightmare of concern and confusion for property owners who intend to give their property to the next generation of family members. Severe limitations on the ability of parents to give their property to children and grandparents to gift property to grandchildren are part of the impact of Prop 19. My office is doing everything possible to assist the public with the confusing and disappointing realities of this major change in the way intergenerational property transfers are handled under the law.
I want to thank the staff of the assessor’s office for extraordinary efforts and great work with the 2022-23 Assessment Roll. Each employee contributed in a significant way producing a thorough and accurate roll. This year presented unique challenges, but with a commitment to outstanding public service, our office achieved 95.5 percent of work units completed, which equals 60,131 triggers.
Service to the public will always be my greatest priority and my office is committed to be as informative and helpful as possible in assisting you.
Click here to view the full report.
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