Assessed Values of Inland Empire Properties up More than 5 Percent

California State Board of Equalization (BOE) Member Diane L. Harkey, Vice Chair George Runner, and Chairman Jerome E. Horton announced that assessed values of properties in Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties rose 5.4 percent in 2015-16 ($449.6 billion) over 2014-15 values ($426.5 billion). County-assessed properties posted 5.5 percent year-over-year gains, while those assessed by the state rose 2.1 percent. Assessed values are 1.8 percent higher in this region than in 2008-09, when assessed values statewide hit their prior peak. County assessors are responsible for assessing the value of each home, as well as other residential and commercial property, as of Jan. 1 of each year. That value is used to set the property tax that is due by December of that year, and April of the following year. The BOE is responsible for assessing properties such as public utilities and railroads. Annual bills for the owners of those properties are based on these valuations. “It is encouraging to see a spike in property values in the Inland Empire,” said Board Member Harkey. “With property values rebounding and some positive news on job growth, California may be on the path to an improved economy.” “Property values throughout California continue to rise,” said Vice Chair Runner. “In some areas of the state we saw more growth than others, but overall this is an encouraging sign for our economy.” “The economic recovery in the Inland Empire, indicated by this rise in housing values, is very encouraging,” said BOE Chairman Horton. “Hopefully this translates to more jobs and greater opportunities for families in this region.” This is the fifth consecutive year the total value of California’s county and state-assessed properties has increased, fueled in large part by the recovery in the state’s housing market. For 2015-16, values rose to $5.209 trillion, an increase of $289.9 billion (5.9 percent) from 2014-15. Values statewide are 14.4 percent higher than they were in 2008-09, when they last hit their peak. Fifty-six counties posted year-to-year increases in assessed value, with most of those increases above two percent. Two counties experienced a year-to-year decline in value. Thirty-three counties grew in excess of five percent. Of the counties with rolls exceeding $100 billion, all twelve posted higher assessed values: Santa Clara (8.7 percent), Alameda (7.8 percent), Contra Costa (7.4 percent), San Mateo (7.5 percent), San Francisco (6.9 percent), Orange (5.8 percent), San Diego (5.6 percent), Riverside (5.5 percent), San Bernardino (5.2 percent), Sacramento (4.6 percent), and Ventura (4.1 percent). Los Angeles County, with the largest assessment roll at $1.290 trillion, increased by 6.1 percent, up $74.5 billion over 2014-15. Valuations in California’s 43 inland counties rose 5.8 percent. The assessed valuation in the state’s 15 coastal counties, which accounts for more than 60 percent of total assessed valuation, gained 6.0 percent.