Riley County commissioners were updated on the housing market Thursday morning.
County Appraiser Greg McHenry reported that the market continues to be steady and slightly ahead of last year’s pace.
So far McHenry’s office has recorded 1,002 real estate sales in 2015 through Sept. 28. The median sale price was $188,000 while the average sale price was $202,881. McHenry’s median residential sales ratio — which compares the midpoint of county values divided by actual sales prices — is currently 97 percent.
“The significant part of that is when we set our values on Jan. 1, we were closer to the 100 percent mark,” McHenry said. “So that would show you sales prices have picked up here a little bit locally.”
McHenry said it’s a busy time in his office as 2016 values are being prepared.
“We’ll probably be starting during the last week of October on our comparable sales approach for homes, what we call market modeling,” he said. “Once we complete that, we start testing our 2016 values, which, that’s right around the corner. Seems like it sneaks up on us every year, but we’ll start doing that about Thanksgiving time.”
McHenry also expressed continued frustration with the Board of Tax Appeals in Topeka, which recently reorganized itself after it was formally known as the Court of Tax Appeals.
BOTA largely deals with county appraisal values and McHenry said it has been hostile towards local governments in favor of private tax appeal companies since its reorganization.
BOTA cases currently docketed for trial for Riley County include Blue Valley Mobile Home Park (2015), Capitol Federal (2015), Colonial Gardens Mobile Home Park (2015), HyVee (2 parcels/2015), Kansas Farm Bureau (2014,2015), Riverchase Mobile Home Park (2015), Shawver (3 parcels/2015), Sunflower Bank (2015), and Target (2015). The county also has a case filed in district court concerning Landmark Storage (2013).
“We’re continuing to spend a lot of time preparing for BOTA cases,” McHenry said. “We’re continuing to do our part, but we get a little frustrated because of the continuances. Usually the attorneys for the other side ask for one or sometimes two or three, even, continuances to stall the process.
“We exchange our evidence way in advance of the deadlines and are typically waiting for information that we requested for months and sometimes years from (their attorneys).”
McHenry also reported that there have been 493 building permits issued in 2015 to-date.
