No. There are differences between individual properties and between neighborhoods. In one area, property sales may indicate an increase in value in a given year. In another neighborhood, there may be very little change or a decrease in property values.

Different types of properties within the same neighborhood may also show different value changes. For example, one story houses may be more in demand that two story houses, or vice versa. Older homes in the same area may be rising in value more slowly than newer homes. There are numerous factors to be considered for each property that will cause the values to differ. Some of the factors that can affect value are location, condition, size, age, quality of construction, bedroom count, number of bathrooms, basement finish and garages.

If you have no questions about your assessment, you do not have to do anything after you receive your property assessment.

If you disagree with your assessed value, (not your tax bill), please contact the Assessor’s office. You can schedule an appointment during a period called Open Book. The appraiser assigned to your neighborhood will review your property’s description to make sure it is accurate and discuss how the value was determined.

To appeal your assessment to the Board of Review, you must be able to demonstrate in a factual and meaningful way, that there is an error in the assessor’s valuation. Only actual sales of comparable properties are accepted as evidence.

Though the value of your property affects your share of taxes, the actual amount you pay is determined by the budget needs of the schools, city, county, sewer district,  and technical college. All of these taxing units decide what services they will provide in the coming year and how much money they will need to provide those services. Once this decision is made, a tax rate is adopted that will generate the needed dollars.

There are 5 taxing authorities that approve a budget each year that together become the Tax Levy. 

• Common Council
• School Board
• MATC Board
• MMSD Board
• County Board

For most properties, the assessment was established at the last revaluation, unless changes in a property description may occur after the last revaluation that may result in a different assessed value. The estimated fair market value is calculated by taking the assessment and dividing it by the city wide assessment ratio.

This ratio is determined by the Department of Revenue and the same ratio shows up on all tax bills within Wauwatosa. However, the ratio and its resulting estimated fair market value is not specific to location or type of property as it reflects all sales activity from the previous year.

We, as appraisers set the values. The CAMA system is just a tool that assists us in our work. Internally, every value generated by our system is reviewed for  “reasonableness.” If a generated value does not appear appropriate, either for its neighborhood or property type, other value indicators are considered.

Externally, our work is reviewed by the Department of Revenue (DOR) as to the degree of “equity” achieved. We receive reports from the DOR that measure our assessment results.