SLO County property value increased by $4 billion this year. Which areas saw the most growth?
The value of property in San Luis Obispo County rose by more than $4 billion this year, buoyed by according to the county’s most recent annual assessor report.
According to the 2023 Anual Report, released Friday, the value of all property assessed in San Luis Obispo County in 2023 was $71.178 billion, based on an assessment of 175,809 assets.
In 2023, the total value of properties in SLO County increased by 6.24%, or $4.163 billion, following up a similarly strong year for property value in 2022. That year, the property value rose 6.8%
In Friday’s report, San Luis Obispo County Assessor Tom J. Bordonaro said much of the value generated in the county stemmed from a “significant increase” in the value of real estate, after another year that saw median prices push north of $800,000.
“Real estate prices have steadily risen,” Bordanaro said in his report. “At any given time, there are a limited number of properties for sale, and property sales occur quickly.”
How did SLO County property value change in 2023?
Housing was largely behind the boost in overall property value in San Luis Obispo County in 2023, the report found.
A total of 109,644 single-family residential properties were assessed for the report, for a combined value of $51.566 billion.
In addition, the county assessed a total of 4,096 multi-family residential assessments for a combined value of $2.779 billion.
The County Assessor’s office evaluated 9,034 commercial and industrial assets, which were valued at a combined $10.636 billion.
Another 6,043 agricultural assets were assessed at a combined value of $4.16 billion, according to the report.
The County Assessor’s office also found the total value of 404 aircraft assets to be $261.6 million, and 21,565 boat assets were valued at a total of $116.6 million.
Between the 2013 and 2023 assessments, the value of all assessed property in San Luis Obispo County ballooned from around $41 billion to $71.178 billion, nearly doubling in value.
Where did property values rise the most?
Property values rose by more than 5% in all seven of of San Luis Obispo County’s cities, as well as unincorporated communities, the report found.
Paso Robles led all cities in terms of property value growth.
The combined value of properties in the North County city rose by 7.5% from the previous year to $6.773 billion.
San Luis Obispo was the highest-valued city in the county, with a combined property value of $12.604 billion, 7.42% higher than in 2022.
Atascadero’s property value grew by 6.19% in 2023, reaching a combined value of $5.239 billion, the report found.
Pismo Beach posted the most growth of any South County city, with the total property value growing by 5.75% to $4.478 billion.
Arroyo Grande saw similar growth, with property value increasing by 5.65% to $4.082 billion.
Meanwhile, the total property value in Grover Beach grew by 5.52% to $2.224 billion, the lowest combined value of any San Luis Obispo County city.
Morro Bay’s valuation of $3.298 billion represented a 5.6% increase over its 2022 value.
In the county’s unincorporated areas, the total property value grew by 5.73% to $33.842 billion in 2023, the study found, making up just under half of the county’s property valuation.
How did Propositions 8 and 13 impact property value?
Two key state laws affected the value of properties in SLO County.
Proposition 8, passed in 1978, allows for a temporary value reduction when the market value of a property has fallen below its factored base year as of Jan. 1 each year, the County Assessor’s Office report said.
Under Proposition 8, the base year value of property is factored at a maximum of 2% each year, which sets a maximum assessed value, the report said.
In 2023, a total of 17,660 properties saw their values reduced in San Luis Obispo County as a result of that law, the report said.
Of those properties, 15,209 properties had their value permanently reduced by Proposition 8, while 2,451 properties had their value reduced by the annual Proposition 8 assessment.
The report also looked at the impact of Proposition 13, also passed in 1978, which limits property tax assessment increases to no more than 2% per year as long as the property does not have a change of ownership or new construction, and limits property taxes to 1% of the property’s assessed value.
That 2% property tax assessment increase cap kept assessments low for many San Luis Obispo County homeowners, compared to the 7.274% increase derived from the California Consumer Price Index, Bordonaro said in the report.
“Once again, Proposition 13 has proven its importance in keeping property taxes from making housing unaffordable,” Bordonaro said. “Proposition13 wins again in helping keep people in their homes — especially the elderly and those on fixed incomes.”
Who got property tax exemptions in 2023?
In 2023, a total of $1.705 billion in property taxes was exempted by the county, according to the report.
Those exemptions, which are available for welfare, veterans’ and religious-based properties as well as certain other homeowners under the California Constitution, can reduce the taxable value of an owner-occupied home by $7,000.
Welfare and religious properties comprised 68.3% of the 2023 exemptions, according to the report.
Those property owners got tax exemptions worth around $1.163 billion.
Veterans’ properties accounted for 6.5% of property tax exemptions, worth about $111.243 million, and homeowners’ exemptions accounted for another 19.5%, the equivalent of about $332.782 million.
Low-valued properties — which include any property that is valued too low to justify the costs of assessment and collection — made up 2.5% of property tax exemptions, for a total of $42.776 million, and all other exemptions made up the remaining 2.8%, for a combined value of $47.685 million.
Where do your property tax dollars go?
For the 2023-2024 financial year, San Luis Obispo County collected $722.246 million in property taxes, the annual report said.
Schools received 61.43% of the county’s property tax income, or, $443.676 million.
The county’s General Fund received 24.36% of property tax revenue, or, just under $176 million.
Incorporated cities received a 7.22% cut of the county’s property tax revenue, or, $52.146 million, while special districts received 3.86%, or, just under $28 million.
Redevelopment agencies received 3.14% of the county’s property tax revenue, or, $22.678 million, the report said.
This story was originally published October 11, 2023 at 8:00 AM.
