Gilford shares new property assessment values

GILFORD — The Gilford Assessing Office has completed an update of all property assessment values for the tax year as of April 1. This was a statistical update performed by the town's assessing agents, Corcoran Consulting Associates, using two-year's worth of actual sales data on approximately 325 transactions.

The end result is an increase in the town's overall assessed value of 34.8% (from $2.6 billion to $3.5 billion).

A breakdown on the average property adjustments by category is as follows: single-family homes, up 35%; mobile homes, up 84%; condominiums, up 38%; commercial, up 36%; boat slips, up 60%; vacant land, up 200%.

The goal of the property revaluation was to have all categories assessed as close to 100% of fair market value as possible, in order to assure the equitable assessment of property taxes. This does not mean taxes will increase by these percentages. In fact, it is estimated the town government share of the tax rate will decrease from $4.14 in 2022 to $3.46 in 2023, a reduction of $0.68 per thousand dollars of assessment.

This rate reduction, however, does not include county or education taxes, which makes up approximately 66% of the tax rate, over which the town has no control. Also, the town has not yet had the 2023 tax rate set by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, so it will be a few weeks before tax bills are in the mail.

In the meantime, the Gilford Assessing Office will soon be mailing letters to inform property owners of their new assessments. The first thing residents should do upon receipt is ask themselves, "Could I really sell my property for that amount?"

Look at real estate booklets to get a better idea what prices are for similar properties. Any resident who believes the new value is over-assessed may contact the Assessing Office at 603-527-4704. After investigation, unsatisfied residents may apply for an abatement after the tax bills have been mailed; the deadline for filing an abatement is March 1, 2024.