Property values have plummeted in Coos County, but don’t expect to see a tax break this year.

Between 2008 and 2009, the real market value of Coos Bay/North Bend residential properties took a 21 percent hit, according to Coos County Assessor Adam Colby. It’s worse for Bandon, where property value sagged 37 percent.

Lakeside is sitting pretty, comparatively, at minus 10 percent.

“It’s my opinion, the declining home prices are directly tied to unemployment,” Colby said.

Chris Fromme, an independent appraiser in North Bend, said it also has to do with an oversupply of new houses.

“The real problem in Coos County is that we had speculative development,” he said, referring to “spec houses” that were built in hope of finding buyers. But those remain vacant.

Those homes, he said, have decreased in value by 35 percent on average.

According to the Regional Multiple Listing Service, houses on the market this year have taken an average of 182 days to sell — roughly six months. The average selling price was $181,800, down from $196,100 last year.

But sinking property values don’t mean local taxpayers will be paying any less.

“The way it looks, it probably won’t happen for a majority of homeowners this year,” Colby said.

The reason?

It comes down to the difference between the property’s real market value and its maximum assessed value, or the taxable value limit.

This is tricky.

Colby explained that assessors come up with real market value by looking at similar properties sold the year prior. Essentially, that means the assessed value is always a year behind the current market value.

On average, the assessment is about 46 percent of real market value on residential property. It’s about 56 percent on commercial property.

 The reason why your property isn’t assessed at its full market value is 1997’s Measure 50.

Passed by Oregon voters, Measure 50 capped assessed value growth at 3 percent a year, in most cases. Even when home values inflated tremendously between 2004 and 2007, the assessments rose no more than 3 percent, Colby explained.

During those years, “the real market values far outpaced the assessed values,” he said. 

Even though the real estate market for residential properties continues to decline, the assessed value of most properties will see a 3 percent increase this year. That’s because the assessed value is still lower than the real market value, he said.

In other words, don’t expect a tax break this year.

But it could happen in 2010, at least in theory. If your home’s current market value actually drops below taxable assessed value, your assessed value will fall. And so, presumably, will your taxes.

Here’s a hypothetical example: If your home’s assessed value is $204,000, but its real market value in 2010 drops to $190,000, you’ll see relief.

Because assessments always lag a year behind home sales, Colby expects a sharp decline in property values next year, when this year’s weak home sales are analyzed.

The only good news is for homeowners on the low end of the price scale. While pricier properties have lost value, those between $125,000 and $150,000 are holding their own.

“They’re worth every penny they were a year ago at this time,” Fromme said.