The South Hadley Board of Assessors announces that preliminary certification of the FY2020 values has been received from the Department of Revenue's (DOR) Bureau of Local Assessment after their review. This notification marks the Five (5) business day disclosure period from November 19th through 25th, excluding the weekend as required for public disclosure under DOR regulations.
There will be printouts available at the Assessor’s Office at town hall located at 116 Main Street, Suite 104 as well as at the South Hadley Public Library located at 2 Canal St. for reviewing valuations. The assessing office will be open from 8:00AM to 4:00PM for this five day period. Assessors will be available for questions during working hours. The Public Library’s hours are Monday-Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday & Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The public is welcome to come in and review their valuations during this time period. This disclosure period also affords an opportunity to ask questions, review data, discuss and request changes to the proposed valuations.
Taxpayers are reminded that these values are based on calendar year 2018 sales for single family, condos, and apartments. For all other property classes both 2017 and 2018 sales were utilized. These valuations are indicative of market value on January 1, 2019, and are in no way an indication of current market values. The assessors are not allowed to consider non-arm’s length transactions such as family sales or foreclosure sales in their determination of new values. Commercial and Industrial properties were valued using an income capitalization method after utilizing income and expense information derived from questionnaires sent out earlier this year, Any changes in the market which occurred during calendar year 2019 will be studied and used in the FY2021 interim year revaluation final numbers.
The Board of Assessors has analyzed the calendar year 2018 sales to value properties as of January 1, 2019. The market sales indicated an increase of approximately 4% for single family homes, an increase of approximately 6% for condominiums, and an increase of roughly 5% for multifamily properties overall. The market and survey data received indicated increases in commercial properties especially certain types of apartment complexes which are experiencing lesser vacancies and increased profit margins. The median sales ratios for the two major classes is 96% for single family properties and 94% for condominiums.