Trumbull County housing values tumble 7.5 percent

By Ed Runyan | October 26, 2011 at 12:08a.m.

By ED RUNYAN

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

In the face of the current national housing and economic crisis, Trumbull County residential property values tumbled 7.5 percent in property revaluation figures released Tuesday.

The drop was as high as 17 percent in Warren and 13 percent in Girard, while Mesopotamia Township recorded the only increase at about a half of a percent.

Each property owner’s new tentative value can be viewed at the county auditor’s web site at www.auditor.co.trumbull.oh.us by accessing the “property search,” then “search” link.

That information is also available by calling 330-675-2895. Property taxes based on the new values won’t be calculated until around Thanksgiving.

The 7.5 percent decrease is similar to what most Ohio counties have been seeing this year, said Adrian Biviano, Trumbull County Auditor, whose office oversees each revaluation.

The county hired Integrity Appraisal Services of Niles to examine each of the county’s 143,000 parcels over the past two years.

“We’re just a reflection of the nation,” Biviano said.

Mahoning County’s drop was 7.5 percent, and Youngstown’s number was 19.3 percent.

“This is not good,” Biviano said of the drop in most people’s home values and the effect it will have on their lives.

Though many people will see a slight decrease in their taxes as a result of the revaluation, it won’t be much, Biviano said. And if a property owner approves a tax levy this November, the decrease could be negated.

“It’s a loss of equity,” Biviano said of a property value drop.

A drop in a person’s property value might make it harder for him or her to take out a home-equity loan, for example, Biviano said, because there will be a smaller difference between the loan amount owed and the property’s value.

Biviano said it’s been at least 30 years since the county saw a decrease this large. The two property revaluations done before this one reflected increases of around 8 percent.

Property revaluations are done by Ohio law every six years. Less comprehensive “update” revaluations are done at the mid-point of the six years.

Officials have explained that a decline in property values doesn’t always result in a drop in property taxes. That’s because voted real-estate tax levies are designed to generate a constant amount of annual revenue over their life regardless of increases or decreases in property values.

The only part of a person’s property taxes that might go down as a result of a lower property value is the relatively small amount of nonvoted “inside” millage.

This is also the reason most school districts and other government bodies will not see a large decrease in revenue because of the property revaluation, officials say.

Trumbull County’s government, for example, will lose about $125,000 per year out of a general-fund budget of $42.4 million.

Howland Schools, as another example, is likely to lose around $190,000 per year.

The new valuations show larger-than-average decreases in property values in the cities and average drops in the townships on the eastern side of the county.

Townships on the western side of the county fared better, just as they did during the 2005 revaluation, apparently because of access to the eastern suburbs of Cleveland on U.S. Route 422 and other urban areas to the northwest.

Doug Constance, one of Integrity’s appraisers, said Southington, Farmington and Mesopotamia townships property values have probably held steady also because of the positive influence of property values in nearby Geauga County.

Property values are “quite a bit higher” in Geauga County, Constance said, so it’s natural that buyers familiar with Geauga County prices would find it attractive to buy just over the county line in Trumbull.

Biviano said the rural areas throughout the northern part of the county have seen increases in values because much of it is agricultural and because of interest in land for Utica Shale exploration.

Trumbull County agricultural values increased 2.24 percent countywide. Commercial values increased 4.7 percent, and industrial values went down 12.9 percent.

Biviano explained that the purchase of Forum Health by Community Health Services for $120 million in October 2010 had an effect on commercial real estate values because the new ValleyCare Health System of Ohio is commercial real estate, whereas Forum Health was non-profit.

In Mahoning county, the market value of agricultural property rose 3.5 percent; commercial rose by two-tenths of 1 percent; and industrial gained 1.8 percent.

Newton Township, Braceville Township and the Village of Newton Falls benefit from access to the Ohio Turnpike, Newton Falls Village Manager Jack Haney said.

Those communities saw much smaller drops in value than most other areas — from half of one percent to 1.75 percent.