3/30/2011
By DAVID CLOUSTON Salina Journal

The appraised value for a home as calculated by the Saline County appraiser's office isn't a number that Salina real estate agent Jody Ryan thinks has much, if any, bearing on that home's selling price.

More important, she says, are the comparable values from recently sold properties in a neighborhood, such as the sale price, age of the house, size and square footage.

However, some property owners have been concerned enough about their recent county appraisals to seek an informal appeal hearing -- to appeal values they think are too low.

County Appraiser Rod Broberg told county commissoners at their meeting Tuesday that about 50 property owners who've had informal hearings have asked the county to increase the appraised values of their homes. Broberg called that number "unprecedented."

"I heard you say that and I read it again here in your written report and I thought, 'Whoa, that is really unusual,' " Commissioner Randy Duncan said.

Broberg said after the meeting there usually are one to two, or even a handful, of such appeals each year. He declined to speculate on why a property owner would seek a higher appraisal.

Ryan wasn't at Tuesday's meeting, but reached for a comment afterward, she called Broberg's announcement surprising.

"It surprises me a lot," she said.

More often, she said, a home sale in a neighborhood drives up the price of neighboring homes, but some of those homes may have had few if any updates inside since being constructed. In fact, she said, she once sold a home for $100,000 less than the county's appraised value.

Getting good marks

The county won't have data on the overall increase or decrease in residential and commercial valuations until the values are certified to the county clerk in June, Broberg said.

But the appraiser's office got good marks on a preliminary report analyzing property values set by his office in 2010, he said.

The study by the Kansas Department of Revenue's property valuation division compares the appraised values established by the appraiser's office and property's sale price. The study looked at sales from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31.

Saline County's median ratio for residential property was 103.4, meaning that the county's values sampled for the study came in at 3.4 percent above the sales price, Broberg said.

The statutory requirement is that counties score between 90 and 110 on the ratio, he said.

The county's median ratio for commercial property was 100.7, or just seven-tenths above the actual sale price, Broberg said. In 2010 the county raised commercial values, in some cases significantly, because an adjustment to those values hadn't been made since 2007.

"We're pleased with that (ratio) number," he said.

Not many appealing

Broberg said 322 people have called his office so far asking for an informal appeal hearing. That's a low number, given last year's total of 751 informal hearings, he said. Property owners have until 5 p.m. Monday to call the office, 309-5800, and schedule their hearing.

"We're barely halfway to (last year's number) and there are five days left to call," he said.

n Reporter David Clouston can be reached at 822-1403 or by e-mail at dclouston@salina.com.

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