Property Revaluation
Overview
A Revaluation, or Market Update, is the process of updating all property values in town to reflect their current market value. This maintains reasonable estimates of what each property could sell for, as required by law.
Revaluation Cycle
Regularly scheduled revaluations, occurring every few years, ensure that the property tax burden is spread equitably across all taxpayers. It also limits the likelihood of large or unpredictable changes in tax bills when updated values are implemented.
The most recent town-wide revaluation was performed by KRT Appraisal in 2019 and was the first since 2005. Moving forward, town-wide market update revaluations will be performed more regularly, and will be conducted in-house by the Town of Scarborough Assessing staff.
Timeline
- Last Town-Wide Revaluation: April 1, 2019
- Next Planned Town-Wide Revaluation: April 1, 2024
- 5 Year Cycle: Future revaluations are planned to occur once every 5th year, unless special circumstances necessitate otherwise. Market update revaluations will be based upon an analysis of all available information, including sales data from the preceding 2 years. This routine cycle will help to maintain a fairly apportioned property tax burden and provide predictability for taxpayers.
Resources
On December 2, 2020 the Town Assessor presented a public workshop to the Town Council explaining the plan for future market update revaluations. Please note, since this 2020 presentation the timing of the next town-wide revaluation has been postponed from 2023 until 2024. The presentation slides and a recorded video of the workshop are available at the following links:
“In-House Revaluations: Plan for Future Market Updates” Presentation Slides [PDF View/Download]
Town Council Workshop Video | December 2, 2020
Additional documents will be forthcoming, leading up to 2024 Revaluation. This will include explanations of the process, methods, and timeframe expectations.
FAQ
- Does this mean my property’s assessment will only change once every 5 years?
- Will I be given advance notice if my property’s assessment is going to change?
- Will my tax bill change after a revaluation?