Essex County 2018 Property Tax Rates: a Town by Town guide
Property tax rates for FY 2018 for all 34 cities and towns in Essex County have been announced. Below is a map (which you can download by clicking here),
so that you can compare tax rates in neighboring towns, followed by the tax rates for each town the last four years, listed from low to high using 2018 tax rates.
Tax rates for each town
Median and Average Tax Rates
The median tax rate for 2018 is $14.30, down slightly from 2017’s $14.41, while the average tax rate has dropped from $14.41 to $14.17. The highest taxed town, Amesbury, has a rate 34% higher than the County average, while the lowest, Nahant, is 29% below the average. Or put another way, the highest tax rate in Essex County is 88% higher than the lowest.
How property tax rates are calculated
There are two main points to understand:
The dollar amount raised by property taxes is based on a simple formula: the dollar levy for the previous year plus 2 1/2% (Prop 2 1/2), plus any new growth (e.g. new construction), plus any voter-approved overrides or debt exclusions.
The tax rate is then calculated by dividing the dollar amount to be raised by the Assessed Value of all property. For FY 2018 (July 2017-June 2018) Assessed Values are based upon sales during 2016. Sales in 2017 will be used for calculating the FY 2019 tax rate.
Thus, the dollar amount (and tax bills) will usually increase from year to year, but the tax rate depends upon what happens to Assessed Values (AV).
Here are examples. All assume a 4% increase in the dollar amount to be raised from taxes. The variable is the change in the AV. In the years when AVs are declining, tax rates will rise. As AVs are now increasing we should expect to see tax rates flat to down, as they are overall for FY 2018 .
Tax rate changes in 2018
Of the 34 cities and towns in Essex County, 21 have announced decreases in their tax rate while 13 have had increases approved.
The largest decreases were logged in Rockport and Swampscott, while the largest increases were in Rowley and Andover.
Tax Rates of Neighboring Towns
Where taxes become interesting is when one can compare tax rates in neighboring towns. Many people, especially those moving to the area, whether from Boston or elsewhere, are willing to consider more than one town.There are many factors in the decision about where to live, but tax rates can be a significant influence on the decision, and may become more so with the new limitation on the deduction of property taxes from Federal taxation.
Note, for example, that the tax rate in Marblehead (read How is Marblehead’s 2018 Property Tax rate calculated?) is lower than in Swampscott (read How is Swampscott’s 2018 Property Tax Rate calculated?); the rate in Newbury is significantly lower than in the surrounding towns; and that the rates in Boxford, Topsfield, Hamilton, Wenham and Essex are much higher than in the surrounding towns. Some argue that lower property values offset higher taxes. Frequently, however, residents of highly taxed towns cite taxes as a reason for wanting to move.
New Listings week ending January 5
It may have been a bit chilly the last few days but there are still new houses coming on the market: (more…)
New year’s Eve Open Houses
It is New Year’s Eve and frigid, but there are still 2 Open Houses in Marblehead today and one each in Swampscott and Beverly: see Open Houses for details.
Wishing all readers
New Listings week of December 29
Snow, cold weather and the Holidays = just a handful of new listings this week: (more…)
No Open Houses today: Merry Christmas!
Last minute Christmas shopping options will not include going to an Open House today to buy a new home for a loved one.
New Listings and Open Houses before Christmas
There is still a trickle of new listings:
Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
And today there are two Open Houses – a 4 bed, 3 bath SFH in Marblehead and a 2 bed 2 bath condo in Salem (more…)
The future of the Marian Court site? $2 million condos
According to this Swampscott Reporter article White Court, the former summer home of President Calvin Coolidge and more recently the site of Marian Court College, has been sold to four Swampscott developers who plan to build 18 condos on the 6.2 acre site.
Wicked Local: Greg Phipps
The project is zoned as an independent living facility, which means that it’s restricted to people age 55 years and older with no children.
Will you help Harborside SIR build a village?
Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty is proud to announce that we will be joining with our colleagues throughout the Sotheby’s International Realty network in support of New Story, a non-profit organization that puts 100% of donations toward transforming dangerous living environments into communities
of safe, sustainable homes. The plan is to build a village with a minimum of 150 homes north of Mexico City.
Click New Story video to learn more about the plans and please click donate to help us build this village. 100% of your donation will hire locals, buys local materials, and build a home in a new community that we’re helping create. Thank you!
Open Houses December 17
Sunny and bright – a lovely New England early winter’s day – and here are the Open Houses you can visit: (more…)
New Listings week of December 15
There are always reasons for people to list houses for sale and for buyers to be looking, even at this time of the year. Here are this week’s new listings: (more…)
Marblehead House on Beach: Open House today
The sale of this spectacularly located house , sitting directly on and at the top of the longest beach in Marblehead, fell through at the very last moment, thus providing another opportunity for buyers. After a recent huge price reduction 46 Gallison Avenue – which was substantially rebuilt in 1997 and updated in 2016 – is now offered for a mere $52,000 more than just its assessed land value.
There is an Open House this Sunday 12:00-2:00, or call for a private showing. The website includes a video of the property – and of the views.
Can you imagine living here and waking up to this?
followed by this
and then this
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, please contact Andrew Oliver on 617.834.8205 or Kathleen Murphy on 603.498.6817.
If you are looking to buy, we will contact you immediately when a house that meets your needs is available. In this market you need to have somebody looking after your interests.
Are you thinking about selling? Read Which broker should I choose to sell my house?
Andrew Oliver and Kathleen Murphy are Realtors with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
@OliverReports
Open Houses Sunday December 10
As so often after snow today will be sunny and bright, so plan to visit these Open Houses. There is one more too late to make the list: 46 Gallison Avenue in Marblehead, which just came back on the market:
Source: Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
How is Swampscott’s 2018 Property Tax Rate calculated?
In my Swampscott’s tax rate goes down – and so do tax bills!! post this week I promised to write another article explaining exactly how the tax rate was calculated. This is it.
The formula is actually very simple: take the $ amount of the previous year’s tax levy, add 2.5% for Proposition 2 1/2, and also add any new growth (such as new construction or a condo conversion). This figure is the new maximum tax levy. To this figure is added debt service – the Principal and Interest payable on the town’s debt. Note that in recent years, Swampscott has not assessed the maximum allowed under this formula, a decision that has reduced the tax bill for residents. And in fact the average tax bill will decline in FY 2018 for the first time since FY 1994!
Here are the numbers for FY 2016, 2017 and 2018, remembering that the FY runs from July to June.
The Tax Levy calculation
The maximum $ amount that can be raised by the property tax will increase year by year. That is because of the formula: last year’s number plus 2.5% plus new growth. In the table above you can see how the FY 2017 maximum tax levy of $46,604,909 becomes the base for FY 2018. Add 2.5% and new growth and the new figure is $48,386,446. To both these numbers is added the debt service – Principal and Interest on the town’s debt, much as homeowners pay P&I on their mortgage. Note that the actual tax levy was less than the maximum allowed by just over $1 million in FY 2017 and by just over $2 million in FY 2018. In other words, the amount of taxes raised was reduced by these amounts each year. Note also that the debt service figure for FY 2018 has dropped by over $0.8 million.
The Tax Rate
The actual tax rate depends upon the total Assessed Value of all property: residential, and commercial, industrial and personal (CIP). The tax rate is calculated by dividing the total dollar amount to be raised from each class by the Assessed Value of each class. Thus, the headline tax rate will also fluctuate depending upon the direction of Assessed Values.
In simplistic terms, if we assume that the $ amount to be raised increases by a little more than 2 1/2% each year, then if the average Assessed Value also increases by a little more than 2 1/2% the tax rate will be unchanged. If the increase in Assessed Values is less than 2 1/2%, then the tax rate will rise. And if the increase in Assessed Values is more than 2 1/2% then the tax rate will fall.
Looking at the Swampscott residential tax rate, in FY 2017 it was $17.45, achieved by dividing $42.7 million by the residential AV of $2,447 million. In FY 2018 the amount to be raised from residential taxpayers is due to drop slightly to $42.4 million, but because the total residential AV increased by 8.3%, the headline tax rate dropped sharply to just $16.00, the lowest figure since 2009.
How does debt service affect the tax rate?
The announced property tax rate announced each year includes the cost of debt service. One of the factors cited for the decline in the tax rate for FY 2018 is the reduction in the cost of debt service, something which the Town warns may be temporary. The impact on the tax rate can be seen in the table below:
Comment
The residential real estate market in Swampscott has been very strong in 2017 (and the 2017 median price will be the basis for the FY 2019 tax rate). At this stage it looks as though the median price will be around $525,000 (a new high), an increase of over 7% from 2016’s $488,000. But bear in mind this is the median price of the SFHs that will actually sell this year, so does not imply that the Town’s residential Assessed Value will increase by 7%.
As to the tax rate for FY 2019, that depends on a number of factors: the amount of debt service, how much of the maximum tax levy is assessed, and the shift to the CIP class being three of them. But he continuing increase in the average Assessed Value will moderate any increases in other areas.
From a real estate perspective, the substantial decline in the tax rate and the reduced shift to the commercial sector are both very welcome news and should encourage more people to decide both to work and live in Swampscott.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, please contact Andrew Oliver on 617.834.8205 or Kathleen Murphy on 603.498.6817.
If you are looking to buy, we will contact you immediately when a house that meets your needs is available. In this market you need to have somebody looking after your interests.
Are you thinking about selling? Read Which broker should I choose to sell my house?
Andrew Oliver and Kathleen Murphy are Realtors with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
@OliverReports
House on Beach in Marblehead Back on Market
The sale of this spectacularly located house , sitting directly on and at the top of the longest beach in Marblehead, fell through at the very last moment, thus providing another opportunity for buyers. After a recent huge price reduction 46 Gallison Avenue – which was substantially rebuilt in 1997 and updated in 2016 – is now offered for a mere $52,000 more than just its assessed land value.
There is an Open House this Sunday 12:00-2:00, or call for a private showing. The website includes a video of the property – and of the views.
Can you imagine living here and waking up to this?
followed by this
and then this
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, please contact Andrew Oliver on 617.834.8205 or Kathleen Murphy on 603.498.6817.
If you are looking to buy, we will contact you immediately when a house that meets your needs is available. In this market you need to have somebody looking after your interests.
Are you thinking about selling? Read Which broker should I choose to sell my house?
Andrew Oliver and Kathleen Murphy are Realtors with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
@OliverReports
New Listings week ending December 8
The numbers are dropping off, but there are still new listings coming to the market:
Source: Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
Marblehead new listing
Swampscott new listings
Salem new listings
Beverly new listings
Lynn new listings
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