While it’s pretty smooth sailing for most departments in Riley County as the end of the calendar year reaches its close, that’s not exactly the case for the appraiser’s office.
County appraiser Greg McHenry told county commissioners Thursday morning that property values are going through final reviews for 2016 values.
McHenry said there are approximately 24,000 properties in Riley County his office sees.
“This is a busy time of the year for new construction data collection,” McHenry said. “As you record Jan. 1 is the all-important date for valuations every year, so that means if there are properties under construction, we need to know what the status is as of the end of the year.”
McHenry said all properties are reviewed — even Riley County’s extensive listing of exempt properties, such as those under the umbrella of Kansas State University.
Commissioner Ben Wilson asked McHenry what the purpose of valuing exempt properties was.
“There are some reasons why that’s important,” McHenry answered. “There are some state funds that come back to things like fire districts and school districts, in particular.”
McHenry said federal properties come into play, too.
“Things like Tuttle Creek Lake come into play for the Riley County school district, the Randolph school district, et cetera,” he said. “So, we spend a fair amount of time valuing exempt properties for those reasons.”
McHenry also reported that there have been 1,206 real estate sales in 2015 through Nov. 30. and that home sales remain steady and slightly ahead of last year’s pace.
As of Nov. 30, the median sale price was $185,000, compared to $175,000 during the same time-frame last year. The average sale price was $201,148, verse $194,005 in 2014. The county’s median residential sales ratio is currently 97% and 462 building permits have been issued in 2015 to-date.
A full breakdown of Thursday’s commission meeting can be found here.
