By BOB AUDETTE , Reformer Staff
BRATTLEBORO Even though the number of home sales in Brattleboro has dropped significantly since the stock market crash, the sale prices of those that have sold have remained above the assessed values determined in the 2005 reappraisal, said Al Jerard, town appraiser.
In the first 11 months of 2009, there were 130 sales in Brattleboro and in 2008, there were 148 sales. In 2007 and 2006, there were 211 and 260 sales.
Values peaked in 2007 and declined slightly in 2008, said Jerard, but much less than in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Vermont properties actually increased in value in the third quarter of 2009, said Jerard.
“Vermont was one of only seven states to show a positive trend in the third quarter,” said Jerard, and trends in Brattleboro are consistent with the rest of the state.
Just the same, property owners in Vermont shouldn’t be breaking out the party favors yet.
“I don’t feel the housing market is out of the woods,” said Jerard, during Tuesday night’s Selectboard meeting.
Nearly every home and business in Brattleboro has had a visual inspection, he said, and about 90 percent of those buildings had internal inspections.
“The listers thank the property owners of Brattleboro for the excellent cooperation we received during this process,” said Jerard.
Now that the data collection process is complete, the Listers Office will compare the values to recent sales prices and review the results for equity and fairness, said Jerard.
By late May or early June, a first draft of the grand list will be available and all homeowners will be notified about their new appraisals. The grievance period will start as soon as the draft is released, said Jerard.
Once the draft grand list is presented, the state will calculate the town’s common level of appraisal.
In 2008, the town’s CLA was 87.32. In 2009, the CLA was 87.52, a change that Jerard called “essentially flat.”
When the state does set the CLA, he said, it is expected it will be close to 100.
The new appraisal will not affect this year’s tax rate, said Jerard, because the state will calculate a new CLA sometime in June, several months after the tax rate is set.
Bob Audette can be reached at raudette@reformer.com, or at 802-254-2311, ext. 273.