BRISTOL — The overall taxable property values in Bristol increased by 20 percent in the recently completed revaluation by the appraisal firm Commerford Nieder Perkins, LLC.
After giving property owners two dates to discuss their new assessments and possibly seek corrections in the numbers, the firm will present final values to the Bristol Board of Selectmen at the beginning of November.
The new assessments will be used to determine the town’s property tax rate which normally is set between October and November each year. The New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration has not yet released any tax rates for 2020.
An increase in assessed valuations typically means a lowering of the tax rate, but changes in the municipal, school, and county budgets can affect how much of a change property owners will see. Individual properties also will vary from the overall increase, based on their location, the condition of the buildings, etc. The appraisers report that the median increase in value is 16.7 percent and the average increase is 19.8 percent.
In calculating the new property values — the first update since 2016 — Commerford Nieder Perkins reviewed real estate sales between Jan. 1, 2018, and April 1, 2020. Last year, the town’s assessment ratio — a comparison between assessed values and estimated market values by the Department of Revenue Administration — was 84 percent, meaning that properties were under-assessed in relation to the market rate. The assessing firm found that real estate prices have been increasing since the last valuation, especially in the months leading up to April 1. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, real estate values in New Hampshire have increased even more, a fact attributed to people fleeing high-density population centers.
