Why Canyon County homeowners won’t see the same change in assessments as those in Boise

After years of double-digit percentage increases, Canyon County residents likely will see a decrease in their property assessments this year.

A decrease in home prices and a slowdown of home sales in the past year has led to a 3%-5% decrease in the median property assessment for homes in Canyon County, according to county Assessor Brian Stender.

“We’ve seen substantial increases since COVID,” Stender said. He said homeowners in the county may have seen a doubling of their assessed values in the previous two years, but that changed in 2022.

Canyon County residential assessments absorbed less of a decrease than Ada County, which will see a median decrease of around 13%. This is typical for Canyon County, Stender said, because it is slower to increase and decrease in values than Ada County.

“They’re the main driver, being the largest population base, and their market changes a little quicker than ours,” Stender said, by phone. “And then we’ll start seeing value changes and then the farther out you get in the smaller communities that lags even further.”

Joe Cox, chief deputy assessor for Canyon County, said many who can’t afford homes in Ada County start looking in Canyon County, where they assume prices are lower, which is why Canyon homeowners will see less of a decrease.

“If you can’t afford a home in Meridian, you start to move into Canyon County to find some more housing at a better cost,” he said, by phone.

Canyon County is following the trend in Ada where commercial assessed values have risen as residential values fell — a combination that should benefit homeowners when tax bills are set.

The median increase in assessed value for commercial properties in Canyon County is 15%-20%, Stender said.

Industrial development and apartment buildings are still in high demand in the county, Cox said. However, the county is seeing a “softening” in the demand for office spaces.

Stender attributes the decrease in residential assessments to rising interest rates.

“Interest rates are slowing the sale volume,” Stender said. “A house with a mortgage on it with double the interest rate is having a bigger effect because it is a little more expensive for people to make their house payment. I think that’s caused some of the downward pressure on sales prices.”

Some homeowners may still see an increase in their home’s assessed value. Cox said the county is seeing increased values of manufactured homes and town houses, because they were in higher demand over the last year when prices on starter homes were $350,000 or more.

Canyon County homeowners will get their assessment notices in the mail “any day now” Stender said. The assessments are not property tax bills; those do not come out until taxing districts set their budgets in August.

The Assessor’s Office says the final day to appeal assessments is June 26. Cox suggested not to wait until the last minute because the office gets flooded with calls the week of the deadline.

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