The following announcement was sent out by the City of Watertown Board of Assessors and first published on Nov. 26:
Following state statutes and Department of Revenue (DOR) regulations, the Board of Assessors is completing the FY2025 Quinquennial Revaluation of all real and personal property in Watertown. Revaluation is a year-long process when the DOR examines in detail all assessing methodologies used by the city, as well as the values derived through the mass appraisal system.
These valuations are pending preliminarily approval by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. The values are subject to change within this disclosure period. The public review will run from Monday, December 2, 2024, through Friday December 6, 2024.
The revaluation process includes a public disclosure requirement to let property owners know that there are proposed new values. Starting December 2nd , a listing of all proposed residential property values will be accessible on the Assessors’ page of the city’s website, www.watertown-ma.gov. Also starting December 2nd , listings of the proposed new values will also be available for viewing at the City Hall (Assessors’ Office), Public Library, and the Senior Center. If you wish to obtain a copy of your property record card, you should call the Assessor’s Office, and one will be provided to you. The Assessor’s office number is (617) 972-6410.
Using the mass appraisal method, the goal is to arrive at values that are 100% of market value. Valuations are based on sales, using the last full calendar year before the beginning of the applicable fiscal year. Calendar 2023 sales were used in the Fiscal 2025 value analysis.
Market trends may indicate that different property types may change in value more or less than other property types. On average, class 101, single-family homes increased in value by 10.4%, class 102, condominiums increased by 7.0%, class 104, two family homes increased by 8.9% and 105, three family homes increased by 3.8%. Apartments, class 111 and 112, increased on average by 4.3%. The commercial class increased on average by 1% and the industrial class on average by 7.7%. Individual parcel valuations may vary from the average class increase due to typical differences, data updates and corrections, new construction, and the effect of market trends for
specific characteristics.
Please access our website for the most up to date information and contact the Assessors’ Office during the public disclosure period to ask questions and review your property information. The Assessor’s Office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
I cannot stress enough the importance of looking at this very transparent City document! It may be your last chance to easily view how your property valuation has gone up (and with it your taxes). Because this contains the whole City picture, you’re able to compare properties in your neighborhood or similar neighborhoods to see what decisions were made there.
Tomorrow is your last day to peruse this very important document. I believe the Assessors office is only open until 12:30 tomorrow (City Hall Friday hours), so call or drop in early to see what the procedure is for contesting these results, if, in fact, you think that decisions that were made are unfair or unreasonable.
Here’s the link to the assessor’s office with an explanation of this data:
https://www.watertown-ma.gov/164/Assessing
And here’s the link to look at the City property valuation data:
https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/4bf6f725-7f88-4525-95ec-e55498ebed57