The assessed value of property in Santa Clara County increased 7.46 percent this year and reached a record-high $619.9 billion, Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone reported this morning.
In Sacramento County, Assessor Christina Wynn reported growth of 8 percent, reaching $216 billion.
The 2022-23 assessment roll reflects the total net assessed value of all real and business property in the county as of January 1.
In Santa Clara County, this year’s increase represents the fourth-highest percentage increase in the last 10 years, Stone said. Changes in ownership accounted for $24.5 billion in growth, the 2 percent inflation adjustment accounted for $11 billion in added value, and new construction accounted for $5.9 billion of the total increase. The assessed value of business property, including machinery, equipment, computers, and fixtures, increased 6.6 percent to $42.9 billion.
The increase will translate to additional property tax revenue for local government, even as individual property owners are protected by Proposition 13 from unmanageable tax increases. Under Proposition 13, annual property tax increases are capped at 2 percent unless there has been a change in ownership or new construction that added value. (An increase of greater than 2 percent also can occur when a property that had been in “decline in value” status, affording the owner a temporary tax reduction, recovers value and returns to its Proposition 13 factored base-year value.)
“The pace of new construction is gaining momentum following the uncertainty of the economic and business outlook during COVID-19,” a press release from Stone’s office noted.
Stone noted that “the 2022-2023 assessment roll is a snapshot of property values as of January 1,” and added, “Recently, mortgage interest rates have doubled and inflation has reduced consumer buying power, indicating that next year we may see a flattening of growth.”
July 1 is the deadline for county assessors to submit their assessment rolls, but many assessors have received 30-day extensions.