The new and reduced assessment is out and will soon auto populate into new listings.  Buyers think that the sales price should be tied to the assessment amount.  This is not true.  In Basking Ridge assessments are done every year.  In the declining market assessed values were affected just like sale prices.  This does not necessarily mean your taxes will go down (we could only wish).  Ususally to compensate for a reduced assessment the tax rate goes up.  Rarely will taxes decrease.  This year although assessments are lower yet again, the tax rate is going up enough to mean a tax increase.

Back to the relationship to sales price.  What buyers need to know is that the assessments for all the townhouses in any Basking Ridge Community should be apples to apples.  Often when a realtor does a comparable market analysis this is not taken into consideration.  If the assessment has changed for one property to the new year’s number, your realtor should take the time to either call the tax assessor or pull up the new assessment on line to correct the comparable properties he or she is using for the analysis.

Sales price is based on so many other things other than assessments for townhomes in Basking Ridge.  The particular model, the floor plan, the number of bedrooms, a finished lower level, the location within the community.  All will affect the value and the price at which a property should sell.