DENVER — Colorado homeowners will likely pay significantly more in property taxes this year and next despite home values seeing a major drop.
Data from the Colorado Association of Realtors shows in April of 2022, the average home sale price in Denver peaked at nearly $950,000. The latest available data is from January 2023, the average price is now around $750,000.
According to realtors, those swings in sale prices could potentially skew the property tax amount the assessor comes up with for homeowners.
"It's going to be a very unique situation because we had values change so quickly, in the last half of 2022," said Kelly Moye, a realtor with Compass and spokesperson for the Colorado Association of Realtors. "The assessor takes a look at the sales from the last 18 months and determines what they think the value would be of that particular property based on comparable sales."
That snapshot in time used to assess property tax rates is unlikely to match today's market value.
"Our prices appreciated anywhere from 18% to 25%, so I think people are going to see a significant increase in their property taxes," said Moye.
Homeowners are not necessarily locked into the property tax rate that's assigned, and it is possible to lower it.
"If people get a value that they think is unreasonable, they can reach out to their realtor, that's what we're here for, and realtors can help provide comparable sales that might be more accurate. Then you can actually fill out the form that the assessor provides and take it into them," said Moye.
The assessor can still decide that the rate assigned is fair, but realtors recommend filing a challenge if you do believe it's not an accurate rate.
