Agenda - 05-07-2013 - 7b - Laserfiche WebLink

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9 immaterial. Similarly, the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) recommends the following standards of accuracy for data collection: • Continuous or area measurement data, such as living area and exterior wall height, should be accurate within one foot (rounded to the nearest foot) of the true dimensions or within 5% of the area. If areas, dimensions, or volumes must be estimated, the property records should note where quantities are estimated. • For each objective, categorical or binary data field to be collected or verified, at least 95 percent of the coded entries should be accurate. • For each subjective categorical data field collected or verified, data should be coded correctly at least 90 percent of the time. Subjective categorical data characteristics include data items such as quality grade, physical condition, and architectural style. It seems that both the NC Real Estate Commission and IAAO adhere to similar standards. Both recognize the imperfections that may occur when measuring a property, judging its quality of construction, or forming an opinion of value. In local government, the General Assembly has placed significant burden on the taxpayer to appeal any inaccuracies or valuation concerns each year during the appeals process. This process allows a local government's tax base to be finalized without jeopardizing budgeted revenue and fiscal standing. Recommendation Market statistics show Orange County real estate markets to be improving. While we notice manifestations of properties selling for more or less than tax assessment, those will occur in any market in any year. The majority of current qualified market sales hover around current tax assessments. Furthermore, the economy is improving with more market activity, shorter selling times and higher selling prices. Should Orange County move forward with a 2015 revaluation, it likely will occur at a time when tax assessments and market values are in unison already. The sales ratio has been gradually declining indicating that market values are rising. Based on this analysis, it is recommended the Orange County delay its scheduled January 1, 2015 countywide property tax revaluation until January 1, 2017. This is legally permissible as it remains within the eight -year statutory mandate. As the economy continues to improve, performing a countywide revaluation effective January 1, 2015 may result in no change in value for avast majority of properties.