By Khalida Sarwari
The Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office today announced $21.4 billion in property value reductions on approximately 118,000 properties in the county.
In comparison to this time last year, 90,000 properties received assessment reductions totaling $17.2 billion.
Last year, the average reduction for a single-family home was $185,000. This year the average reduction is $175,000.
The county generates $215 million in property tax revenue from a total of 465,000 properties. A quarter of all properties and a third of all residential properties will be assessed at below their purchase price, Stone said.
Stone said the number of reductions in assessed value will likely greatly exceed the number of increases.
The figures, based on an initial analysis of the assessment roll by the assessor’s office, represent a record number of reductions. The numbers won’t be final until the roll is completed on July 1.
The decrease in assessed values means a hit to police and fire services, parks and recreation, community colleges, redevelopment agencies and water districts, county assessor Larry Stone said.
“Property tax revenue is the most stable and the biggest portion of discretionary revenue that local government receives, so it’s across the board impacts,” Stone said. “The level of service provided by local government will be impacted negatively to some degree or another.”
Cash-strapped schools will take the biggest hit as they see their revenue from property taxes drop, Stone said. Nearly 48 percent of all property tax generated goes to public schools.
Whereas in 2008 and 2009 the south part of the county was the hardest hit, this year there have been more foreclosures in the northern part, where most basic aid schools are located, Stone said.
The county’s 13 basic aid school districts receive all of their general purpose funding from property taxes.
“We’re seeing an erosion of property values in some of the higher-end more established areas,” Stone said.
Stone said the figures represent by and large the values of residential properties and that a review of the value of commercial and industrial properties has yet to be done.