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Trumbull Property
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Bill Nicholas, chief appraiser with the Trumbull County Auditor’s office, stands near a bank of computers at the auditor’s office that are used by the public to look up property values. Nicholas says the most recent property revaluation conducted in Trumbull County provides one of the most accurate measurements of property values the county has had in close to 20 years.
Process for valuing real estate seems to be more accurate
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Anyone who wants to know the real value of real estate in Trumbull County can probably rely on the Trumbull County Auditor’s Office more than in the past.
The values now on file at the auditor’s office appear to reflect the true value of property better now than they have in nearly 20 years, Bill Nicholas, chief appraiser for the auditor’s office, says.
The auditor’s office released the property values for the county’s real estate to the public in late October, and the values are accessible on the auditor’s website at www.auditor.co.trumbull.oh.us.
The unusual thing about the values, Nicholas said recently, is that they appear to accurately reflect the true value of properties and homes — which was not the case for most of the past 20 years.
Since about 1993, the auditor’s office followed this rule of thumb: To determine the market value of a property — the amount that a property would bring in a transaction involving a willing buyer and willing seller — add 20 percent to the value on file at the auditor’s office.
“The auditor’s office was typically about 20 percent low,” said Nicholas. Inflation in the real-estate market meant that the every-six-year appraisal Ohio counties carry out was typically 20 percent behind in Trumbull County, Nicholas said.
Not so anymore.
Nicholas hasn’t been able to observe a lot of home sales since the county released its new valuation numbers, but he did observe one sale that would suggest the revaluation numbers might be right on target.
The home at 713 North Road in Niles — a rental property — sold Oct. 7 for $85,000, according to the Trumbull County auditor’s website.
That was nearly identical to the amount the auditor’s office appraised the home for — $85,100.
The buyer and seller would not have had access to the county’s appraisal numbers at the time of the sale, Nicholas noted.
The sale also illustrates the way that property values have dropped since the last revaluation in 2005, Nicholas, though the property experienced a larger drop in value than the average.
The one-story, brick home, south of U.S. Route 422 near Potomac Avenue, is in the Howland Local School District. It was built in 1949, has eight rooms, two full baths, four bedrooms, a full basement, and 1,822 square feet of living space, central air conditioning and is in average condition, the auditor’s office says.
In 2005, with real-estate values rising, the house at 713 North Road appraised at $111,700 and would have probably sold for around $134,000, using the 20 percent rule, Nicholas said.
The home’s drop in valuation from $111,700 to $85,100 means it has dropped 24 percent, which is significantly more than the average drop in residential values across Trumbull County of 7.5 percent. The average drop in the City of Niles — Howland Local Schools was 9.1 percent.
Nicholas said he doesn’t know specifically what accounts for that larger-than average drop at 713 North Road.
Nicholas said relatively few people have called the auditor’s office to talk about their new property valuation. The ones who have typically want to know why one home dropped in value more than another.
“You have to explain that each house has to be considered individually,” Nicholas said.