Here’s how much West Seattle residential-property values have risen, according to the King County Assessor’s Office

The King County Assessor’s Office has announced that “the annual process of mailing property valuation notices to taxpayers” has begun, and West Seattle property owners will get theirs soon. According to the announcement: “Median residential property values rose by 18.3% in West Seattle, and by 11.4% in North Central West Seattle.” (The median is “half more, half less,” NOT the average.) For the latter, that’s a higher increase than the 8% a year earlier. As decreed by state law, these valuations were set at the start of this year for taxes that will be due next year – these notices are not a bill. The KCAO says a major factor in the rising property values was the continued low inventory of housing for sale, coupled with high demand.

P.S. You don’t have to wait for the postcard to arrive by mail – if your new valuation has been finalized, it’ll show up online; one way to look it up is to use the King County Parcel Viewer to check – once you’ve gotten to the page for your address, click through to the “property detail” page. One more note: If you disagree with your valuation, you can appeal it – here’s how.

Baffled August 12, 2022 (1:40 pm)

Sigh. I figure I can stay in my house for another five years before I get taxed out.

Fiz August 12, 2022 (3:56 pm)

😳

Mellow Kitty August 12, 2022 (4:23 pm)

Daaaa-GONE! 😲

What Do I Know August 12, 2022 (5:49 pm)

I highly recommend appealing your valuation if it seems excessive for your neighborhood. It’s easy to do online. I did it successfully two years ago.

KWest Seattle August 13, 2022 (9:50 pm)

I appealed. They had a phone call with me and then denied my appeal.
wsres August 15, 2022 (6:04 am)

Unfortunately, it matches the prices homes in our neighborhood are being sold for… I am just not ready to sell. Those prices only benefit us when we are ready to sell, and appealing is not likely to work.

Auntie August 12, 2022 (6:10 pm)

If you are a senior or disabled on low fixed income, you may qualify for a reduction in property taxes. Don’t just look at the income level shown on the site – they also allow deductions for many medical expenses that may bring down your income for this purpose. Tax Relief – King County

Larry August 12, 2022 (11:53 pm)

I’m a bit confused and would appreciate a concise answer (5 words or less would be nice, as I’m an imbecile).

Is the new row identified as “Valued Year 2021, Tax Year 2022”, or will it be 2022/2023 when it appears in those columns?Thanks.

WSB August 12, 2022 (11:59 pm)

When the new valuation is available, it will say
Valued Year 2022
Tax Year 2023

WSGuy August 13, 2022 (5:39 am)

I appealed about five years ago on the grounds that the condition of the house was incorrect since we had a lot of issues like a failing roof and windows. I was rejected because according to them I did not provide contractor estimates for repairs, versus the photos I had.However, the board did suggest that I would have more success arguing for a reduction in the grade of my house (that numeric value you will see like 7 or 8). The county maintains definitions of grades here:

https://info.kingcounty.gov/assessor/esales/Glossary.aspx?type=r

(search for BUILDING GRADE)

If you disagree with how your home is graded, then document why and best of luck!

seattlecris August 13, 2022 (9:16 am)

If the places these funds go to are currently limited to 10% growth then where do the additional funds go? I think we need an audit on this taxes dispursments.

Peter August 13, 2022 (10:03 am)

I’m paying $400 per month more in property taxes than when I bought my 1400 sq ft house in 2016. We need a freeze on property taxes and assessments. For the last few years I’ve started voting against all property taxes. I used to vote for them when they were reasonable, but property taxes are absolute insane now, and I feel like the spending is less controlled than it used to be.

Neighbor August 13, 2022 (10:48 am)

I’ll happily buy your house for what you paid in 2016.
Ralph Longview August 13, 2022 (11:17 am)

You are the real victim in this city. It must be terrible to be hundreds of thousands richer than a couple years ago. How do you cope?
My two cents August 13, 2022 (12:14 pm)

I’m guessing that the appreciation of the house/asset has outpaced the rate of property taxes over the past 6 years. Looking at the difference per month without context needs to be taken into account.
- Brian Feusagach August 13, 2022 (2:10 pm)
  
  I had some sticker shock when I looked at my new appraised: an increase of almost 20%! But to echo your thoughts, housing prices (and their associated property taxes) certainly have increased but this latest singular increase got me wondering how bad the increase has been overall.I looked at the last 13 property tax increases of our current home and the year-to-year increase varied significantly every couple of years even including some reductions: +19.65%; +11.53%; +0.50 %; +1.00%; +12.62%; +11.79%; +6.50%; +7.99%; +16.34%; +12.34%; -3.36%; -6.30%; +4.80% . This is about 10% yearly increase during that time – but the value of our home has increased about 15%/year (if the Zillow/Redfin values are to be relied upon). As retirees, we are facing the “aging in place” question and we will not be able to stay here should there be future increases of this magnatude – and getting less services for more taxes from our city isn’t helping.
  - Neighbor August 13, 2022 (3:33 pm)
    
    Would you sell your house for less than the appraised value?
K August 13, 2022 (12:28 pm)

You’re welcome to rent, Peter. When I bought my house in 2016, my mortgage was less than what I paid in rent prior. Since then my taxes have gone up about $300 a month, but the rent for that other house went up over $1000a month. Maybe instead of voting against your own self-interest by saying no to funding schools, libraries, parks, and transportation, you should advocate for more housing, since more housing will drive BOTH taxes and rental costs down.
WS Res August 13, 2022 (1:02 pm)

Look at how many people here are willing to help you with your problem! Put me in line to offer you what you paid in 2016 for your house.

Alki Resident August 13, 2022 (1:58 pm)

Considering we didn’t have a bridge for 2.5 years, we should not pay more in taxes. Who can we bring this up to?

winniegirl August 13, 2022 (3:03 pm)

I’m reading a lot of assumptions about home owners. Some of us our not wealthy and waited a long time to have a place of our own – mid 40s for me. I work in restaurants, not tech. Property taxes do weigh heavily on monthly income. The current value of my house doesn’t change my monthly income at all. It’s an asset not cash (which has fallen quite a bit in the past few months). What I hear people saying is, oh well. Move out of Seattle and sell me your house. Which is fine. But, having grown up here, it would be nice to be able to stay. And, I don’t think all of the snarky people answering are really thinking through all of the scenarios.I’m not against taxes at all, but our regressive system doesn’t work. And, an income tax would never pass in this state (I would vote for that).

Greg August 14, 2022 (5:12 am)

Does a higher assessed value necessary mean higher taxes? If the budget calls for X in year 1 and then X again in year 2 (hypothetically) then wouldn’t the taxes be largely the same even if your property value goes from A to B? Is the assessed value simply the way to determine what amount towards the funds to be collected that a particular property owner owes? I don’t think that the city just gives you a new value and then automatically increases your taxes accordingly — what I’m saying/asking is — one should not expect an 18% increase in taxes just because your assessed value went up 18%. Am I understanding this right?

K August 14, 2022 (5:52 pm)

You are. The assessed value is used in combination with your tax rate, which varies by taxing district and changes every year, to determine your actual tax bill. The tax rate in Seattle went down last year, which offset some of the tax increase from property values.
Auntie August 14, 2022 (6:35 pm)

By the way, property taxes are billed by the county, although they do include some city taxes. There should be an informational piece of paper in with your tax bill that explains how much of your taxes go to which item (levies, property tax, school funding, etc).

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