Yakima County home values drop

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A slowdown in the local housing market is reflected in assessed values for homes in Yakima County this year, the Yakima County Assessor's Office said Monday.

Total value fell by less than 1 percent countywide from last year, the first time in at least two decades market values of homes dipped, Assessor Dave Cook said.

Only two cities in the county, Selah and Moxee, saw increases in assessed value.

What the drop in values means for property taxes won't be known until the end of the year when taxing districts submit their operating budget requests for 2010.

It is the budget of the taxing districts -- cities, schools, fire districts, library and the like -- that drives property taxes.

Homeowners will start receiving cards in the mail this week detailing changes in the assessed value of their homes.

The values are based on market value, a calculation that takes into account sales of similar homes in neighborhoods around the county.

Cook said the decline reflects downward pressure on sale prices in the wake of tighter credit requirements.

"We are in a stable market. Our values have gone up consistently, but not an awful lot," Cook said. "If they don't go up so fast like the Seattle market, they won't fall as fast."

Certainly, King County has suffered from a bursting of the housing bubble.

Stan Roe, assessment unit supervisor in the King County Assessor's Office, said Monday market values in King County fell by an average of 15 percent this year.

"I don't think I've seen this big a drop before. We have some pocket areas that have experienced a slight drop," said Roe, who has worked for the King County Assessor's Office for 19 years.

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported the median price of a home in King County fell to $349,995 in August of this year, compared with $388,350 a year ago.

In Yakima County, the number of home sales fell 20 percent during the first eight months of the year to 1,351. The average selling price fell by $3,447 to almost $165,000, according to Headwaters: The Source, a Selah firm that tracks real estate sales in the county.

According to assessor figures, the total value of all residential property countywide this year is $8.15 billion.

* David Lester can be reached at 509-577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com.