Laserfiche WebLink
40 <br />A primary use of ratio studies is to monitor assessment levels. This particular report focuses on sales <br />data after January 2013. These sales deemed an "arms -length transaction" are used in the study. Sales <br />between related parties, to or from financial institutions or to government agencies are not considered. <br />On multiple occasions throughout the year the Division contacts property owners and physically inspects <br />sales to verify accuracy of tax data and property characteristics. Sales Verification Questionnaires are <br />mailed to purchasers of property and may be returned by visiting the office, through telephone, <br />standard mail, fax or our website. <br />Measures of central tendency include mean, weighted mean, median and mode. However, the most <br />widely used measure in the assessment profession is the median as it is less influenced by outliers or <br />extreme ratios. The IAAO supports using the median as the "preferred measure of central tendency" for <br />monitoring assessment performance. For these reasons, this study uses the median as its preferred <br />measure of central tendency. <br />PRODUCT QUALITY <br />Each reappraisal produces a product for Lee County Government and the taxpayers of Lee County. This <br />product is an estimate of the fair market value of each parcel in the county at a single point in time, the <br />date of reappraisal. We must continually measure the quality of this product to gauge how it is <br />performing against current market conditions. After the year of the general reappraisal, it is likely that <br />assessment levels may fluctuate due to various market conditions. Many counties in North Carolina, for <br />this reason, have opted to adjust the quality of its assessment product more frequently than eight (8) <br />years and conduct a countywide reappraisal every four (4) to (6) years. <br />Table 2 shows the overall quality of the 2013 reappraisal assessments and how those assessments <br />compare with the 2013 and up through July 2016 qualified market sales. Tables 3 and 4 breakdown the <br />countywide data into two classes, improved and vacant, respectively. Tables 5 and 6 show the real <br />property classes of commercial and residential, respectively. Tables 7 and 8 show the number of total <br />sales per year and the number of qualified sales that are used in the ratio study. Tables 9 through 11 <br />give some history of the sales ratio study as reported by the North Carolina Department of Revenue <br />which uses a random sample of our yearly sales. <br />Table 2: 2013 — 2016 (Thru July) Qualified Sales Analysis <br />All Qualified Sales <br />2013 <br />2014 <br />2015 <br />2016 <br />Number of Sales <br />332 <br />366 <br />479 <br />303 <br />Median <br />99.11% <br />97.89 <br />98.62 <br />97.39 <br />Mean <br />99.12% <br />95.92 <br />99.30 <br />95.95 <br />COD <br />11.48 <br />10.85 <br />9.76 <br />10.48 <br />PRD <br />1 1.00 <br />1.02 <br />1.01 <br />1.01 <br />