SHREWSBURY – On average, owners of single-family homes may see a $414 tax increase for fiscal year 2023.
That’s according to Principal Assessor Ruth Anderson, who presented the proposed tax rate to the Select Board during a tax classification hearing Nov. 1.
The board unanimously adopted a $13.12 tax rate, which translates to an average tax increase of 5.61% for single-family homeowners.
Last year, the average bill for single-family homes was $7,382.56, but the average tax bill for single-family homes for fiscal year 2023 is projected to be $7,796.65.
Anderson said that the values of residential properties townwide have increased this fiscal year and are “reflective of the market in Shrewsbury.”
The value of single family homes have increased by 13.77% and the values of condominiums have increased by 14.25%, she said.
According to Anderson, the reason for the increase in residential values is because the prices of homes have “increased dramatically” as buyers have been paying over the asking price. Her presentation indicated that the average sale price in 2022 was $686,205, which represents 105.16% of the asking price.
The property values for commercial, industrial and personal properties were “still substantial, but not quite at the rate of residential,” she said.
According to Anderson, values of the industrial properties increased by 5.24% and the values of commercial properties went up by 6.37%.
Anderson noted new construction projects, including Edgemere Crossing, which is a mixed-use property consisting of 250 apartments and retail space, and Centech Park North, which will be made up of an office building and two warehouses.
Since the beginning of the last fiscal year, there have been 23 open permits for construction, 45 for additions including finished basements, 225 for interior and exterior alterations, and 65 for commercial construction alterations.
During the hearing, Anderson presented tax exemptions — including a small business and residential exemption — and the option to split the tax rate. Select Board opted not to adopt a split tax rate, which would shift the tax burden from residential properties to commercial and industrial properties.
Anderson said the flat tax rate “makes it fair.”
“As an assessor, that’s what my job is, to make everything fair and equitable and having the same rate across the board is often seen as being attractive to commercial developers. So, they want to go to a community where they are paying the lowest amount of tax possible,” she said.
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