After fifteen years since the last reassessment, Luzerne County’s assessed values are still stable, according to a yearly report.
In 2009, the last countywide reassessment took place, marking the first large-scale revaluation since 1965.
Every year at this time, the State Tax Equalization Board publishes a figure called a “common level ratio” by comparing previous year's real estate purchase prices to the assessed values in each county.
An ideal ratio is 100, meaning purchase prices closely reflect assessments.
Ratios below 100 indicate that more real estate purchases are above assessments, suggesting underassessment, while scores above 100 suggest overassessment.
Due to high real estate purchase prices, the county’s ratio dropped to 76 two years ago and then further to 69.4 last year.
However, county Chief Assessor/Assessment Director Kristin Montgomery had expected more purchase prices to start aligning with assessed values, anticipating the county common level ratio to begin rising and moving back toward the ideal 100.
According to the new county ratio released by the state this week, the ratio is now 86.8.
“The ratio is determined by sales versus assessments, and the market has indeed changed, just as I anticipated,” Montgomery said in a written response on Friday.
Among all 67 counties, only Philadelphia, with 93.3, and Indiana, at 90.8, currently have better ratios than Luzerne.
While many of Luzerne County’s current assessed values have stayed the same since the reassessment, thousands have been adjusted, usually downwards, through assessment challenges.
Monitoring is necessary to decide if another countywide reassessment is needed, and the county administration has emphasized that there are currently no plans for a mass revaluation.
