Regional property values continue upward progress

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Andy Dean

Figures from the state Board of Equalization show regional property values rose for the second fiscal year in a row, and overall could reach or exceed the all-time high of 2008-09 within the next year or two.

Ben van der Meer

Staff Writer- Sacramento Business Journal

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Sacramento-area property values have recovered nearly all of the value lost during the Great Recession, even though the recovery lagged the state as a whole.

According to the California Board of Equalization, regional values went up by 6.3 percent from fiscal 2013-14 to the current one. The board includes Sutter County as part of the region.

The rise brings the assessed value of all properties to $248.1 billion, about $7 billion short of the all-time high reached in 2008-09 of $255.4 billion.

Figures from the office of board member George Runner show values dropped every fiscal year after that until last year, when they went from $224 billion to $233 billion. California figures bottomed out two years earlier and have risen since 2010-11.

Of individual counties, Placer, with 6.9-percent growth, had the greatest year-over-year gain from '13-14 to '14-15, while Sacramento has the greatest value in dollars, with $130 billion.

On the other hand, Yolo County did not decline until 2009-10 and never dropped much below a previous high value of $20.9 billion, and is now at $22.5 billion. El Dorado County, at $27.08 billion in assessed value, is now about $1.2 billion away from its all-time high and would likely reach or exceed it during the next fiscal year.

In a news release, Runner noted the increasing values were good news for an economy still in recovery and homeowners who are still underwater. Overall state property values are now assessed at $4.92 trillion, a 6.1 percent increase from 2013-14.

Ben van der Meer covers real estate, development, construction, transportation and the business of sports for the Sacramento Business Journal.