WECT TV6-WECT.com:News, weather & sports Wilmington, NC Nearly half of area properties decrease significantly in value

Nearly half of area properties decrease significantly in value

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC (WECT) - A struggling economy has paved the way to decreasing home values, and some solid numbers shared by officials Thursday truly shed some light on the value of properties in Wrightsville Beach.

Tax evaluations are performed every four years in New Hanover County, according to Roger Kelley, who is New Hanover County's Tax Administrator.

According to Kelley, in 2011, there were 1,193 residential properties valued at more than $1 million dollars in value.  The number stems from a tax evaluation from 2007 to 2011.

In 2012, there were 653 properties more than $1 million dollars.

Nearly 50 percent of the homes fell under the million-dollar mark in the new year.

The numbers are still unadjusted. Kelley tells WECT.com that there were several properties that were barely over the million-dollar mark, adding that any change could have landed a property under the mark in the new year.

He also says tax evaluations are very different from what the market value may be of a house.

Davis Smalls is the broker-in-charged at Prudential Laney Realty in Wrightsville Beach.  Smalls says tax evaluations are not always a good way of gauging how much a house is worth or could be sold for.

"There would be no way that a town or county assessment could come through each individual house and look at the condition," said Smalls. "Plus, the market moves daily so they're looking at an assessment from a snapshot in time based on some recent sales."

Smalls says some home buyers use tax evaluations when making an offer on a house. He says buyers from out-of-state are the ones who typically reference the evaluations. However, Smalls stresses that the county's perception of a value of a home is very different from an agent's perspective.

Kelley says homeowners do have the chance to appeal an evaluation and says the county has already received a number of appeals. He went on to say the county evaluates thousands of properties, so there is room for error.

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