Property assessments in Albemarle up an average of 5.1 percent in 2025

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors now has more information on a key factor in the development of the budget for fiscal year 2026. On January 15, County Assessor Peter Lynch revealed the results of the 2025 assessment of real property.

“The tax basis has gone up 5.09 percent, or about 5.1 percent,” Lynch said. “The values haven’t gone up as much as they did in ‘22 and ‘23, but they are still climbing.”

Lynch said sales price values have continued to increase despite higher interest rates for mortgages as some people who can live anywhere continue to choose Albemarle.

Individual assessments will be mailed to property owners on January 24 and the data should be in the county’s Geographical Information System on January 26. Until then the county has offered averages by property classification:

• Urban Residential (County Water & Sewer): +6.9%
• Residential up to 20 acres: +7.3%
• Rural (20 to 99.99 acres): +5.2%
• Rural (100 acres and over): +3.8%
• Commercial Properties: -1.8%
• Multi-Family: -4.0%

“This year, the commercial properties have had some challenges in their valuations,” Lynch said. “A little more stress due to the economic conditions than the residential because they have different stressors on or influences on their valuations.”

The county also breaks down the information via magisterial district.

• Rio: +3.3%
• Jack Jouett: +4.8%
• Rivanna: +5.8%
• Samuel Miller: +7.8%
• Scottsville: +3.4%
• Town of Scottsville: +6.1%
• White Hall: +5.1%

The appeals process comes in two stages. After the assessments are mailed, property owners who wish to challenge the assessment can fill out a form for an administrative review and turn it in by February 28. If that does not yield results, a property owner can file for an appeal through the Board of Equalization.

“We expect to start having their hearings in April of this year,” Lynch said. “It’s a little bit sooner than we have in the past.”

These assessments will now be officially entered into something called the Land Book. In 2024 the total value of all real property in Albemarle was $34,141,771,800 yielding $238,497,503 in real property tax. Compare that to 2020 when the total value was $20,044,053,419 generating $171,176.263.33 in tax revenue.

Before you go: This article was originally sent out as part of the Charlottesville Community Engagement newsletter in the January 16, 2025 edition. Both are functions of Town Crier Productions. You can support the work by purchasing a paid subscription or contributing monthly through Patreon. You can also send in a check or send an email, but drop me a line first.