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Sacramento County Appraiser

Client’s property assessment lowered by $190,000

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It’s always nice to get good news for clients. Recently I got wind that the Assessor’s Office in Sacramento County ended up agreeing with my opinion of value for a client, so the client will now have their property taxes reduced by $190,000. That’s a saving of about $2,400, so my client should get a fat refund check in the mail soon. That should help with rising gas prices, huh?

tax appeal reduced

NOTE: The image above is a snippet of the “Tax Change Withdrawal” form in Sacramento County. These forms sometimes leave home owners confused because property owners are fearful of what the form really means. After all, nobody wants to sign the wrong form and accidentally stop an appeal. But in this case the withdrawal at hand is something good because the purpose of signing the withdrawal form is to formally accept the revised value and thereby pull out from the appeals process. Read more here if you are wondering about signing the Tax Withdrawal form.

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

Sayonara to Sayonara Drive

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If it’s been a while since you’ve seen Sayonara Drive in Citrus Heights, have a look at some of the change. You may have heard of this infamous street being bought up by the City of Citrus Heights in recent years as 15 fourplexes were demolished in April 2010. According to the city itself:

Sayonara Drive represents one of the City’s greatest challenges. The street has the most calls for service of any street in the City for both police, fire and code enforcement (approximately 32 times the City average). The layout of the buildings and the lots on the street is both dysfunctional and unattractive. From the early 1950s when Sayonara was first developed, it suffered from high tenant turnover, crime and an assortment of social problems. Changing these dynamics is an ambitious endeavor which requires a substantial investment of time and money.
Nearly the entire street on Sayonara Drive consisted of fourplex units like the ones below, and many of these units have had major deferred maintenance over the years.
 
 
There are now vacant lots where 15 fourplexes used to exist. The lots appear to be well maintained and the street has been improved with lighting also.
 
 
 

I suggest reading through the Sayonara Drive Improvement Strategy (pdf) directly from the City of Citrus Heights in order to get a sense of the background, status and potential options for this street.

What do you think of the city’s efforts so far? What would you like to see happen to Sayonara Drive?

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook or subscribe to posts by email.

Comparing Five Months of Unemployment Rates in Sacramento County

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309What’s been happening with Sacramento County unemployment rates over the past five months? Below are the most recent figures for unemployment per the Employment Development Department. The rates encompass both cities and Census Designated Places (CDP) in Sacramento County from May through September 2009. Data for October 2009 has not yet been released (wait until the third week of November for that). 

As of September 2009, Sacramento County as a whole has an unemployment rate of 12.2% (August was 12.3%, July was 12.0%, June was 11.6% and May was 11.1%). What do you notice about the data below? Does anything stand out to you or surprise you?

Arden Arcade CDP  11.8% (August 11.9%, July 11.7%, June 11.4%, May 10.8%)

Carmichael CDP  9.0%, (August 9.1%, July 8.9%, June 8.7%, May was 8.2%)

Citrus Heights city  8.6% (August 8.6%, July 8.5%  June 8.3%, May 7.8%)

Elk Grove CDP  9.9% (August 10.0%, July 9.8%, June 9.6%, May 9.0%)

Fair Oaks CDP  6.8% (August 6.8%, July 6.7% , June 6.6%, May 6.2%)

Florin CDP  18.1% (August 18.2%, July 17.9  June 17.6%, May 16.7%)

Folsom city  5.6% (August 5.6%, July 5.5%, June 5.4%, May 5.1%)

Foothill Farms CDP  15.5% (August 15.6%, July 15.3%, June 15.0%, May 14.2%)

Galt city  18.3% (August 18.4%, July 18.1% , June 17.8%, May 16.9%)

Gold River CDP  2.1% (August 2.1%, July 2.0%, June 2.0%, May 1.9%)

Isleton city  13.0% (August 13.2%, July 12.9%, June 12.5%, May 11.8%)

La Riviera CDP  6.7% (August 6.7%, July 6.6%, June 6.5%, (May 6.1%)

Laguna CDP  6.3% (August 6.4%, July 6.2%, June 6.1%, May 5.8%)

Laguna West Lakeside CDP  8.2% (August 8.3%, July 8.1%, June 8.0%, May 7.5%)

North Highlands CDP  17.8% (August 18.0%, July 17.6%, June 17.3%, May 16.4%)

Orangevale CDP  8.7% (August 8.8%, July 8.6%, June 8.5%, May 8.0%)

Parkway South Sacramento CDP  20.2% (August 20.4%, July 20.0%, June 19.7%, May 18.7%)

Rancho Cordova City  13.9% (August 14.0%, July 13.8%, June 13.5%, May 12.8%)

Rancho Murieta CDP  3.8% (August 3.8%, July 3.7%, June 3.7%, May 3.5%)

Rio Linda CDP  17.7% (August 17.8%, July 17.5%, June 17.2%, May 16.3%)

Rosemont CDP  9.6% (August 9.7%, July 9.5%, June 9.3%, May 8.8%)

Sacramento city  14.2% (August 14.3%, July 14.1%, June 13.8%, May 13.1%)

Vineyard CDP  5.7% (August 5.7%, July 5.6%, June 5.5%, May 5.2%)

Walnut Grove CDP  26.5% (August 26.5%, July 26.2%, June 25.6%, May 24.5%)

Wilton CDP  7.5% (August 7.5%, July 7.4% , June 7.2%, May 6.8%)

Every single category above, whether city or CDP, either remained the same from August to September 2009 or saw a slight decrease in unemployment rate. There was no increase in unemployment rate in any area of Sacramento County from August to September 2009. If there was a prize for lowest unemployment rate in Sacramento County, Gold River would be the winner at 2.1%. On the other end of the spectrum, Walnut Grove has the highest unemployment rate in Sacramento County at 26.5%.

Let me know if you have any questions about the latest figures. You are welcome to call 916-595-3735 or email ryan@lundquistcompany.com.

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Comparing Five Months of Unemployment Rates in Sacramento County

Unemployment Rates in the Sacramento Area: What Effect Does Unemployment Have on the Housing Market?

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How are unemployment levels doing in Sacramento County right now? How is your city or area doing? Have a look at the data below to check out your area or places nearby to where you live. Do you think there is any impact on property values when unemployment rises? Might this lead to more foreclosures? Do you think the large decline in price levels over the past year in many areas below might be related in part to the large percentages of unemployment which have increased sharply? Does it seem like some of the hardest hit areas are also struggling with higher unemployment rates?

Unemployment Rates are based upon information provided from the Employment Development Department from February 2009.

State of California      10.1%     

State of California One Year Ago   6.2%

Sacramento County    10.7%

Arden Arcade CDP      10.4%

Carmichael CDP          7.9%

Citrus Heights city      7.5%

Elk Grove CDP            8.7%

Fair Oaks CDP            5.9%

Florin CDP                 16.0%

Folsom city               4.8%

Foothill Farms CDP      13.7%

Galt city                   16.2%

Gold River CDP           1.8%

Isleton city               11.5%

La Riviera CDP            5.8%

Laguna CDP               5.5%

Laguna West Lakeside CDP   7.2%

North Highlands CDP    15.8%

Orangevale CDP          7.6%

Parkway South Sacramento CDP   18.0%

Rancho Cordova City   12.3%

Rancho Murieta CDP    3.3%

Rio Linda CDP             15.7%

Rosemont CDP            8.4%

Sacramento city         12.5%

Vineyard CDP             4.9%

Walnut Grove CDP       23.6%

Wilton CDP                 6.5%

For further reference and to look up unemployment information and rates on any county or city in California, see the following links:

If you have any questions about the data above or any other appraisal-related issues or thoughts, contact me at 916-595-3735 or www.lundquistcompany.com