Santa Clara County property tax receipts continue to grow, and demand for homes in exclusive communities like Monte Sereno and Los Altos Hills lead the charge, according to the annual report released this week by Assessor Neysa Fligor.
“Changes of ownership for residential properties continue to be the strongest contributor to growth in value,” Fligor said.
Accounting for 49% of the county’s value growth, residential reassessments following property transactions outstripped the commercial properties, new construction and Prop 13 inflation adjustments as a driver of revenue growth, she said. The property taxes fund state and local government services, schools and special assessment districts.
The county’s assessed values surpassed three-quarters of a trillion dollars, making Santa Clara County the state’s fourth most valuable chunk of real estate, behind Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. Santa Clara County is worth more than two San Franciscos.
Residential transactions remained steady in number, with a slight increase in median sales prices.
Los Altos Hills and Monte Sereno, each pegged 5.7%. Largely residential Morgan Hill grew at 5.6%.
Los Altos showed the strongest performance of the residential markets at 6.4%. It was second only to Sunnyvale, which reached the top position through commercial property assessments, with a blended growth rate of 7.2%. The countywide average increase overall was 4.7%.
Los Gatos’ assessment roll grew 4.64% to $20.8 billion,down from 5.85% last year and slower than the county average.
San Jose grew by less, 4.5%, though with $280 billion in contributions, it represents the largest chunk of the county’s tax base.
Fligor briefly discussed the impact of data center growth on tax revenues, mentioning that the investment in computing infrastructure contributed property taxes both directly and indirectly via support industries and higher residential values.
The Monday morning event was a first for the office, as Fligor nears the one-year mark. She succeeded former Assessor Larry Stone, who delivered remarks on the transition and why he chose not to seek another term after three decades on the job.
Fligor has overseen the transition to a new technology platform to manage the office’s assessment system for more than half a million properties.
