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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kootenai County Home Values Level Off But Waterfront Lots, Homes With A View Face Hikes In Assessments, Property Taxes

Home values for most Kootenai County property owners did not rise last year, according to assessment figures released this week.

But up to a third of county landowners can expect value increases that range from a few dollars to 50 percent or more.

The amount will depend primarily on whether their homes have a view.

Waterfront homes and rural homes with an attractive view rose more in value than any other type of property.

The reason is twofold, Assessor Marv Vandenberg said.

First of all, most of those properties - around Lake Coeur d’Alene, for example - haven’t been reassessed in five years. Increases during that span have been the result of across-the-board value estimates.

Second, “there simply aren’t many more of them,” Vandenberg said.

“There’s been increasing demand for properties with a view or access to a lake,” Deputy Assessor Mike McDowell said.

For only the second time since 1990’s building boom, most property values in cities dropped or stayed the same, McDowell said.

Assessments in Athol, Rathdrum and some subdivisions in Hayden and Post Falls dropped 5 percent to 8 percent across the board. Except for the northwest corner of Coeur d’Alene, most other residential property within cities remained the same.

About 67,000 assessment notices were mailed Monday, kicking off a tense season for homeowners and county workers. These values will be used to calculate how much property tax landowners will pay at year’s end.

Already, more than 400 residents have called or visited the county with questions or complaints.

But officials don’t expect a repeat of 1995, when nearly 750 people appealed their assessments.

“The No. 1 question should be: Is it a fair representation of what you think your property’s worth?” said Commissioner Dick Compton, whose own home jumped $20,000 in value. “If it isn’t fair, you should call the assessor’s office and make an appointment.”

Countywide, the value of property jumped $223 million to $5.25 billion - half of 1996’s $430 million increase. In 1995, the increase was about $900 million.

About $163 million of this year’s increase is due to new development.

While it’s too soon to determine how those figures will affect taxes, the news for most residents should be good.

Some of the value reductions are offsetting a few overzealous assessment hikes in previous years, McDowell said.

He acknowledged that the dips indicate a “leveling off” of the housing market but said it hardly indicates a slowdown in construction.

“A lot of construction is still going on; it’s just of a different type,” said McDowell.

Last year, builders appeared to focus more on lower-cost housing, thereby stabilizing supply and demand for typical city residences.

But that construction did little to slow soaring property values for higher-end rural property.

In Hayden Lake’s “Gold Coast” among the county’s ritziest areas property values jumped an average of 10 percent.

“If it hasn’t been changed for the last five years and you have a view lot, it could be a a real shock to open your assessment notice,” Compton said.

Commercial landowners, including owners of huge retail outlets such as grocery and department stores, can expect modest increases of about 5 percent.

, DataTimes