Q: HOW DOES THE OFFICE OF THE ASSESSOR DETERMINE FAIR MARKET VALUE FOR ALL OF THE REAL PROPERTY IN THE CITY OF NORWALK?

A: REAL PROPERTY IS VALUED UTILIZING ONEOR MORE OF THE THREE (3) TRADITIONAL APPROACHES TO VALUE, USED BY APPRAISERS, I.E., COST APPROACH, COMPARABLE SALES, OR THE INCOME APPROACH. THE COST APPROACH ESTABLISHES VALUE ON WHAT IT WOULD COST TO REPLACE YOUR STRUCTURE LESS DEPRECIATION (WEAR AND TEAR), AND THE VALUE OF LAND BASED PRIMARILY UPON SALES. IN THE CITY OF NORWALK, AS WELL AS NUMEROUS OTHER JURISDICTIONS WE WILL USE A MARKET ADJUSTED COST APPROACH FOR MOST RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES. A MARKET ADJUSTED COST APPROACH IS THE SAME AS PREVIOUSLY STATED WITH AN ADJUSTMENT FOR THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE COST APPROACH VALUE AND THE TYPICAL, E.G. MEDIAN, VALUE INDICATED FOR SALES IN A SUB-SECTION OF NORWALK OR A NORWALK NEIGHBORHOOD. THE SALES COMPARISON APPROACH ESTABLISHES VALUE BASED ON A COMPARISON OF ONE PROPERTY WITH OTHERS THAT HAVE SOLD IN THE SAME GENERAL AREA WHILE MAKING ADJUSTMENTS FOR DIFFERENCES. THE INCOME APPROACH ESTABLISHES VALUE BY ANALYZING THE INCOME EARNED FROM RENTAL OF A CATEGORY OF STRUCTURES AFTER VACANCY AND CREDIT LOSS, MINUS THE EXPENSES TO OPERATE THESE STRUCTURES, AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE SALES PRICES OF PROPERTIES WITHIN THE SAME CATEGORY THAT HAVE SOLD. UPON COMPLETION OF THE ANALYSIS, A RATE IS ESTABLISHED, REFERRED TO AS A CAPITALIZATION RATE. THE CAPITALIZATION RATE IS APPLIED TO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INCOME EARNED AND STRUCTURAL OPERATING EXPENSES FOR UNSOLD PROPERTIES IN THE SAME CATEGORY. AFTER ESTIMATING VALUES USING ALL OF THE ABOVE OR A COMBINATION THEREOF, A FINAL VALUE WILL BE SELECTED AS THIS OFFICE'S ESTIMATE OF FAIR MARKET VALUE FOR EACH PROPERTY.

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