Property values up 5.6 percent in Mat-Su but new construction slows, borough assembly is told

Property appraisals in the Matanuska Valley Borough showed a 5.6 percent increase in values as of Jan. 1 compared with last year, borough appraisers told Mat-Su’s assembly Jan. 16.

Oliver Querin, the borough’s new appraiser, briefed the assembly on the latest report. Querin came to the borough from the Pacific Northwest where we worked for several years in municipal property tax assessment. He is also a former Mat-Su resident who worked in property appraisal earlier in his career, he told the assembly.

Querin said the total value of property in the borough reached $18.826 billion as of the Jan. 1 estimate. Within that, $12.6 billion was residential property; $3.85 billion was commercial and $1.309 billion was the value of vacant land.

The assessed value of property – what property taxes are based on – is much less because of various exemptions allowed, Querin said.

In the latest appraisal Mat-Su’ assessed value was $18.82 billion but the borough’s appraised value total was reduced by 29.2 percent because of the exemptions.

Of these, the senior citizens exemption (partly mandated by the state) amounted to $1.88 billion and was up 9.2 percent from the previous year, he said. Exemptions for disabled veterans amounted to $547.24 million.

Querin pointed out a trend of increasing exemptions from total property appraised values. Property values were reduced 29.23 percent in 2024 because of the exemptions, an increase from 28.25 percent in 2023 and 27.13 percent the year before, in 2022.

The assessed value is the basis for property tax payments, an important part of the borough’s revenues that provide a base for the annual budget.

Other points in Querin’s presentation included that for single-family homes in Mat-Su the appraised value was up to $369,300 on average, an increase over $354,162 in 2023 and $265,006 in 2020.

Also, single family new construction is slowing in the borough, he said. There are 491 newly-built single-family homes in the borough in the new assessment, the lowest number in 10 years.

The 491 “new-builds” in the latest assessment are down from 600 in 2023 and 674 in 2022, Querin said. The peak was 799 built in 2018.

One other important point in the presentation was highlighted by borough manager Mike Brown in the assembly meeting. It was that of 132 appeals filed with the appraisers by property owners only 13 went to a formal hearing. Of those, four resulted in an adjustment of the property value.

“That shows that most appeals can be resolved with just a phone call to the appraisal office, without having to take the time and expense to go through a full hearing,” Brown said.

The ratio of appeals filed against those heard has been declining over the last three years. In 2022 there were 952 appeals filed, 29 hearings held and four adjustments in value. In 2021 the number was 184 appeals filed,18 hearings held and seven adjustments made.

Querin said assessment notice will be mailed to property owners Jan. 29, and the formal appeal process will begin Feb. 29 with hearings on appeals held in April.

The assessment roll will be certified by the assembly on June 1.