Values down, taxes up – why?

Elections are about a lot more than candidates. They are about a cause. Pinal County property taxes are too high. High-assessed values in a declining market are the erroneous thinking and action of only one candidate, the current assessor. We can and must change the current assessor in November.

As the real estate news continues to report, it becomes very obvious that the current Pinal County Assessor must NOT read. Home values are in a severe decline, and, yet, in one year net assessed values were increased by the current Assessor by over 50%.

On Aug.12, the Phoenix Business Journal reported: “Home sales are up in Pinal County, but a large portion of those transactions continue to be from foreclosed homes.

“According to the Realty Studies Department at Arizona State University, 845 of the 2,100-recorded home sales in the second quarter came from foreclosures — or 40 percent of the total. That compares to 47 percent in the first quarter, when 1,680 homes were sold.

“Although recorded foreclosure activity slowed in the second quarter, it still represented a 48 percent share in Maricopa and 42 percent share of home sales in Queen Creek. Maricopa County reported 21,445 sales in the second quarter with foreclosure activity representing 41 percent.

“For all transactions in Pinal County, the median sales price has steadily eroded from $220,000 in fourth-quarter 2005 to $193,000 in third-quarter 2007 to $143,100 for the current quarter. The foreclosure median price was $145,000, while traditional transactions produced a median of $141,000.”

That means a decrease of $77,000 in the median sales price since 2005.

The same issue of the Phoenix Business Journal reported that Arizona ranked second in the nation in July foreclosures with a rate of 54.9 per 1000 households.

Pinal County is close to the top of Arizona foreclosures and, yet, the current Assessor continues to increase values.

Another article in the East Valley Tribune of Aug. 13, 2008, revealed basically the same stats. So, why does the current assessor not pay any attention to the current market? I believe he has lost interest in doing the job that he is there to do. It is time to retire him in November by electing Ron “Low-Tax” Reinagel as Pinal County Assessor.

Zillow.com finds that a majority of homeowners believe their homes are insulated from the housing crisis, which has seen 77 percent of the nation’s homes fall in value during the second quarter.

The online real estate company’s second-quarter homeowner confidence survey found that 62 percent of homeowners believe their homes have increased in value despite the nation’s widely reported housing woes and market data indicating the contrary.

Could part of this mental error be due (at least in Pinal County) to the fact that the current Pinal County Assessor continues to increase the value of homes?

Homeowners are even more optimistic looking ahead as they anticipate their homes will be worth more in six months. Still, many homeowners are concerned that foreclosures in their area could hurt values over the next year.

Again, is the current Pinal County Assessor aware that foreclosures are at an all-time high in Pinal County?

Zillow, in preliminary results of its second-quarter real estate market report released on Aug. 12, shows 77 percent of the nation’s homes dropped in value during the second quarter, while 19 percent rose in value and 5 percent stayed the same.

“Whether it’s apathy, confusion or just plain denial, homeowners seem to believe the housing crisis affects every other home but ‘not my house,’ underscoring a wide gap between homeowners’ inflated perceptions of their home’s value and the gloomy market reality,” Zillow said.

Pinal County voters have an opportunity to reverse this trend in the future by electing me, Ron “low-Tax” Reinagel in November. The current Assessor has been in office for over 20 years and (in my opinion) remains engaged in “on-the-job” training. It’s time for a change. I cannot win this election and work to lower our property taxes alone–I need your help to correct the malfunctioning Pinal County Assessor’s Office.

For further information or to make a campaign donation, go to www.ronforcountyassessor.com.

Submitted photo