WHO conducted Jersey City’s property revaluation?
In 2016 Jersey City hired Appraisal Systems, Inc. for $4.4 million to conduct the revaluation. Here are some helpful links about the firm:
- ASI’s website page for Jersey City residents here.
- ASI’s generic powerpoint that explains the Revaluation process is here. This is an excellent overview of the general process.
- ASI provided Ward-specific overviews of the Revaluation in the spring of 2017. I attended the Ward “A” meeting and summarized the meeting in a CivicParent post here.
Per this NJ State Legislature report, in 2005 there were only 12 firms statewide that conducted citywide revaluations, and fewer still able to conduct revaluations of larger cities like Jersey City. Property Revaluation is multi-month process conducted by firms that specialize in real estate appraisal services.
What is property revaluation?
Property Revaluation updates all assessed values in the city to be equal to market values. Specifically…your property has 2 values associated with it:
- Assessed value – this is the value according to the government. This value is listed in the city tax office and it appears on your tax bill. This value is updated only at specific points in time, including during a citywide revaluation.
- Market value – this is the value according to the real estate market. This value is constantly fluctuating, depending on the real estate market at large.
The last time Jersey City conducted a citywide property revaluation was 1988. So, the assessed values in the city’s tax office are outdated by nearly 30 years.
WHEN does property revaluation occur?
Property Revaluation is a lengthy, multi-month process. The Jersey City Tax Office will have the most up to date and reliable information about timeline. I will share here, though, that the originally reported timeline had the Revaluation process ending in the late 2017 timeframe. However, this Nov 2017 article from The Jersey Journal notes that the original timeline has been delayed and the process will continue into 2018.
I recommend following Terrence McDonald of The Jersey Journal on Twitter, and reading The Jersey Journal at large, for most recent updates to Jersey City’s revaluation process.
WHERE is the property revaluation occurring?
The Property Revaluation is happening throughout the entire city. Every property is being inspected and will receive a new assessment which will eventually be sent to the Jersey City Tax Office and used in the computation of tax bills.
Appraisal Systems Inc. has mapped Jersey City’s inspection schedule here.
WHY does property revaluation have to happen?
Property Revaluation happens to ensure everyone pays his/her “fair share” in local taxes. “Fair share” is dependent on your home’s tax assessed value being equal to its market value. If your assessed value is NOT equal to your market value, you may be paying too much or too little in property taxes.
Conducting a citywide revaluation is a social justice imperative in Jersey City. I’ve written an entire section about why that is the case here.
