Robinsons: Recent Home Sales Show Tax Disparity

Some people are under the misconception that the worth of their home and property is similar in value to the full market value that the tax assessor's office uses, but that is not necessarily the case.

Because Grievence Day for Southampton Town property taxes is in two weeks, we thought this would be a good time to analyze some properties that recently sold in the Southampton market to see how accurate the town assessor's 0ffice is in "valuing" a home.

In the village of Southampton is a 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath, 3,154-square-foot traditional on .54 acre with a gunite pool just south of Hill Street. Listed for a few months in early 2008 for $3,900,000 and re-listed this year for $2,995,000, 21 Terry Court went into contract quickly and sold for full price. The town's full market value is $3,148,400.

In the hamlet of North Sea is a 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath, 4,618-square-foot traditional on 5.10 acres with a gunite pool.  Listed in early 2008 for $3,995,000, 1754 Majors Path sold for $1,950,000.  The town's full market value is $2,415,800.

Does this mean that the town is overassessing?  Not necessarily.  Let's take a look at a few more properties that sold last month.

In the village of Southampton is an 8-bedroom, 6-bath, 3,889-square-foot contemporary on 2.75 acres with a gunite pool fronting the Atlantic Ocean.  Listed for $24,950,000 last summer, 1240 Meadow Lane sold for $20,000,000, yet the town's full market value is only $14,176,100!

In the hamlet of North Sea is a 6-bedroom, 6.5-bath, 6,044-square-foot. traditional on .92 acre with a gunite pool. Listed in September 2006 for $2,350,000, 3 Hannahs Court sold for $2,300,000, yet the town's full market value is only $944,300!

The reality is that the property tax assessments of the town's 51,000 parcels follow the Goldilocks Principle — some are too high, some are too low, and some are just right.

If you do not believe the particular "value" the town placed on your property is accurate, you may want to consider filing a tax grievance.  You may view the 2011 Tentative Tax Assessments by going to the Town of Southampton Assessor's Office website.

Complete instructions for filing a grievance are on the town website.  Grievance Day for town taxes is May 17 and will be held again this year at St. Rosalie's Catholic Church at 31 E. Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays.

You may view additional recent sales at our website: www.SouthamptonRE.com