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Essex County 2023 Property Tax Rates: Town by Town guide

January 21, 2023 · by Andrew Oliver · in Market Reports, Property taxes

Property tax rates for FY 2022 for all 34 cities and towns in Essex County have been certified. The first table shows the tax rates in alphabetical order, while the second lists them from low to high.

Tax rates for each town
Alphabetically (download a copy of this table by clicking here) (more…)

Essex County 2022 Property Tax Rates: Town by Town guide

January 8, 2022 · by Andrew Oliver · in Boston housing market, Latest News, Property taxes

Property tax rates for FY 2022 for all 34 cities and towns in Essex County have been certified. Below is a map, so that you can compare tax rates in neighboring towns, followed by the tax rates for each town the last 5 years. The first table shows the tax rates in alphabetical order, while the second lists them from low to high.

Tax rates for each town
Alphabetically (download a copy of this table by clicking here. (more…)

Latest New Listings and Inventory update

January 8, 2022 · by Andrew Oliver · in New Listings

Salem, at least, has a reasonable number of New Listings (the state of inventory is shown later in this article, as is my annual guide to property tax rates).

Click these links for details: (more…)

Essex County 2021 Property Tax Rates: Town by Town guide

January 2, 2021 · by Andrew Oliver · in Essex County Housing News, Market Reports, Property taxes

Property tax rates for FY 2021 for all 34 cities and towns in Essex County have been certified. Below is a map, so that you can compare tax rates in neighboring towns, followed by the tax rates for each town the last 5 years. The first table shows the tax rates in alphabetical order, while the second lists them from low to high.

Property tax rates

Tax rates for each town
Alphabetically (download a copy of this table by clicking here.

Property tax rates
property tax rates

From lowest to highest based on 2021 rates (download a copy of this table by clicking here)

Property tax rates
Property tax rates

Median and Average Tax Rates
The median tax rate for FY2021 is $13.40, down from $13.68 in FY2020, while the average tax rate is unchanged at $13.80. The highest taxed town, Wenham, has a rate 47% higher than the County median, while the lowest, Rockport, is 27% below the median. Or put another way, the highest tax rate in Essex County is double that of 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 debt service.
The tax rate is then calculated by dividing the dollar amount to be raised by the Assessed Value of all property. For FY 2021 (July 2020-June 2021) Assessed Values are based upon sales during 2019. Sales in 2020 will be used for calculating the FY 2022 tax rates.
20 of Essex County’s cities and towns choose a single tax rate, whereby residential and commercial properties are taxed at the same rate. The other 14 cities and towns choose a split tax rate whereby commercial properties are taxed at a higher rate – in some cases a much higher rate.
A separate report on commercial tax rates will be published in the near future.

For a walk through the tax calculation of a single rate tax town read How Marblehead’s 2021 Tax Rate is calculated

Tax rate changes in 2021
Of the 34 cities and towns in Essex County, 19 have announced decreases in their FY2021 residential tax rate while 14 have had increases approved and one is unchanged.. Decreases of 5% or more were seen in Manchester and Ipswich, while 5% or larger increases were recorded in Merrimac and Amesbury. Bear in mind that a major determinant of the change in tax rates is the movement in Assessed Values. Thus, in a time of rising home prices, a general expectation is that tax rates should be flat to down.

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 have become more so with the limitation on the deduction of property taxes from Federal taxation. Some argue that lower property values offset higher taxes. Frequently, however, residents of highly taxed towns cite property taxes as a reason for wanting to move.

Commercial Property Tax Rates:a Town by Town guide
Mortgage Markets Return to Normal
Conforming Mortgage Loan Limits raised for 2021

Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®

Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205

Licensed Sales Agent in Florida

www.OliverReports.com
[email protected]

Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated

“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Salem, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”

Essex County property tax rates 2019: Town by Town guide

December 29, 2018 · by Andrew Oliver · in Essex County Housing News, Market Reports, Property taxes

Property tax rates for FY 2019 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 five years. The first table shows the tax rates in alphabetical order, while the second lists them from low to high.

 

Property tax rates

Tax rates for each town
Alphabetically (download a copy of this table by clicking here).

property tax rates
Property tax rates

From lowest to highest based on 2019 rates (download a copy of this table by clicking here)
Property tax rates
property tax rates

Median and Average Tax Rates
The median tax rate for 2019 is $14.02, down from $14.30 in 2018, while the average tax rate has dropped from $14.17 to $13.95. The highest taxed town, Amesbury, has a rate 31% higher than the County median, while the lowest, Rockport, is 30% below the median. Or put another way, the highest tax rate in Essex County is 90% 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 debt service.
The tax rate is then calculated by dividing the dollar amount to be raised by the Assessed Value of all property. For FY 2019 (July 2018-June 2019) Assessed Values are based upon sales during 2017. Sales in 2018 will be used for calculating the FY 2020 tax rates.
21 of Essex County’s cities and towns choose a single tax rate, whereby residential and commercial properties are taxed at the same rate. The other 13 cities and towns choose a split tax rate whereby commercial properties are taxed at a higher rate – in some cases a much higher rate.
A separate report on commercial tax rates can be read by clicking here.

For a walk through the tax calculation read How is Marblehead’s 2019 Tax Rate calculated? and How is Swampscott’s 2019 Property Tax Rate calculated?

Tax rate changes in 2019
Of the 34 cities and towns in Essex County, 24 have announced decreases in their tax rate while 10 have had increases approved. Decreases of 5% or more were seen in Andover, Lynn and Swampscott, while 5% or larger increases were recorded in Saugus and Nahant. Bear in mind that a major determinant of the change in tax rates is the movement in Assessed Values. Thus, in a time of rising home prices, a general expectation is that tax rates should be flat to down.

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. 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.

Andrew Oliver
www.OliverReports.com
Realtor, Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty

617.834.8205

Property tax rates: 2017 Essex County town by town guide

December 31, 2016 · by Andrew Oliver · in Market Reports, Property taxes

(Click here to download a pdf of the 2018 report.)
Essex County property tax rates for FY 2017 for all 34 cities and towns have been announced and the bills will be arriving in the mail any day now. (Spoiler warning – your taxes are going up!) Below is a map (so that you can compare tax rates in neighboring towns) followed by an alphabetical list of tax rates for the last three years. After that I explain how taxes are calculated and give an early look at the likely outcome for 2018.
You can download a pdf of this report by clicking here.

Property tax rates

 

Property tax rates

Property tax rates

Source: Mass Dep of Revenue

Median and Average Tax Rates
The median and average tax rates are both $14.41. The highest taxed town, Amesbury, is therefore 38% higher than the average, while the lowest, Nahant, is 27% below the average. Or put another way, the highest tax rate in Essex County is 90% higher than the lowest.

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.

Note, for example, that Marblehead’s rate is much lower than Swampscott’s; Newbury’s is significantly lower than the surrounding towns’; and that Manchester’s is a lot lower than Hamilton’s or Wenham’s. Some – normally the officials of higher-taxed towns – argue that their lower property values offset higher taxes. Frequently, however, residents of highly taxed towns cite taxes as a reason for wanting to move.

Tax rate changes in 2017
Of the 34 cities and towns in Essex County,  22 have announced decreases in their tax rate while 12 have had increases approved.The median change was a decrease of just 0.7%.
Of the 22 decreases 13 were 2% or less, while the largest decrease was the 6.9% in Newbury.
7 of the 12 increases were 2% or less. The largest increase by far was the 8% in Wenham, where the removal of Penguin Hall from tax rolls impacted the total valuation.

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 by the Assessed Value of all property. For FY 2017  (July 2016-June 2017) Assessed Values are based upon sales during 2015.

Thus, the dollar amount (and tax bills) will always 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 were declining, tax rates rose. As AVs are now increasing we should expect to see tax rates flat to down.

AV and tax rate

Outlook for FY 2018
As we approach the year end the median price of a Single Family Home in Essex County will increase about 5% in 2016, and it is 2016 sales which will be used in calculating FY 2018 tax rates. Since the dollar amount to be raised from property taxes will naturally continue to increase, at this stage it seems reasonable to expect a modest decline in tax rates for FY 2018, but there will, as always, be fluctuations from town to town.

If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].

Read Which broker will find the buyer for my house?

Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated

You can REGISTER to receive email alerts of new posts on the right hand side of the home page at www.OliverReports.com.

@OliverReports

Essex County property tax rates for 2016

December 26, 2015 · by Andrew Oliver · in Essex County Housing News, Market Reports

Essex County property tax rates for 2016 have been announced. Here is a map (so that you can compare tax rates in neighboring towns) and the changes over the last two years, followed by my comments:

Essex town map

Essex County property tax rates for 2016

Mass. Dept of Revenue

Mass. Dept of Revenue

How property tax rates are calculated
I wrote How your property taxes are calculated earlier this year.
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 by the Assessed Value of all property. For FY2016 (July 2015-June 2016) Assessed Values are based upon sales during 2014.

Thus, the dollar amount will always 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 were declining, tax rates rose. As AVs are now increasing we should expect to see tax rates flat to down.
AV and tax rate

Tax rate changes in 2016
Of the 34 cities and towns in Essex County,  14 have announced decreases in their tax rate while 20 have had increases approved.The median change was an increase of just 0.2%.
Of the decreases 7 were 1% or less, while the largest decrease was the 6.8% in West Newbury.
While there were more increases, 9 were 1% or less. The largest increase by far was the 9.9% in Ipswich.

Outlook for 2017
With one week left in the year it seems the median price of a Single Family Home in Essex County will increase about 3.5% in 2015, and it is 2015 sales which will be used in calculating FY2017 tax rates. Since the dollar amount to be raised from property taxes will naturally continue to increase, at this stage it seems reasonable to expect little overall change in tax rates for FY2017, but there will, as always, be fluctuations from town to town.

I am publishing below a downloadable spreadsheet showing tax rates by city and town for the last 5 years.
Essex County Residential tax rates_2012_16_

If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 617.834.8205 or [email protected].

Read Which broker will find the buyer for my house?

Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated

You can REGISTER to receive email alerts of new posts on the right hand side of the home page at www.OliverReports.com.

@OliverReports

2016 property tax rates: waiting on Rockport

December 20, 2015 · by Andrew Oliver · in Market Reports

There are 34 cities and towns in Essex County and 33 of them have announced their 2016 property tax rates. The exception is Rockport which has posted this on its website: “The first half of Fiscal Year 2016 Real Estate taxes have been delayed.”

Once Rockport makes it announcement I shall post a full list of 2016 tax rates. (more…)

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