If you're wondering what your house is worth -- or at least what Anchorage city assessors think it's worth -- the answer will be in the mail soon.
The municipality's green cards -- those little rectangular harbingers of property tax bills to come -- will go out Friday, Mayor Dan Sullivan said during his regular weekly news conference Wednesday.
Municipal Assessor Marty McGee said the overall value of residential assessments came out pretty flat. The value of the average single-family house actually dropped 1 percent, from $314,300 in 2009 to $312,000 this year, McGee said.
Don't count on seeing a drop on your green card, though. That 1 percent decline is an average. Individual homeowners shouldn't be surprised to see an increase of 1 to 5 percent, McGee said.
If you don't want to wait for the mailman, you can also go online and check your updated property value starting Friday, McGee said.
Commercial property values did better. The overall change in value from last year is up about 3 percent, to a total of $9.2 billion, including new construction, according to figures provided by McGee.
If you think the city has made a mistake in assessing the value of your home, you have 30 days to file an appeal. McGee said that may not be necessary. He suggests calling his office first.
"You don't have to file an appeal to have an adjustment to your value," he said. "If you'll talk to my staff ... we can work out most of the problems with the valuations."
McGee said the city updates assessments on every property each year, and is required by the state to physically inspect each property every six years. This year, assessors took an actual look at 16,277 individual properties, he said.
Property tax bills won't go out until sometime in April or May, after the Assembly puts the final touches on this year's city budget and sets tax rates.
To check on your property values after Friday, go to the city's Web page, www.muni.org, and follow the property tax information links.
By DON HUNTER
dhunter@adn.com