Information from King County Assessor's office

The King County Assessor’s office has begun the annual process of mailing property valuation notices to taxpayers. Notices will be arriving in West Seattle soon. Median residential property values rose by 18.3% in West Seattle, and by 11.4% in North Central West Seattle.  

Data indicates that home sale prices and overall home values have risen sharply in most King Count neighborhoods and have dramatically spiked in northeast King County.  

“Housing inventory for sale remains low, while demand remains very high,” said Assessor John Wilson. “The resulting increase in home values is inevitable in this type of market, and that trend is particularly strong on the eastside. While voter approved special levies typically have more impact on property tax increase than do increases in home values, these value increases are so dramatic they may result in noticeable increases in property taxes in eastside communities.” 

The total amount of property tax collected is derived from the budgets passed by state, county, and local governments, and by locally approved levies.  The value of each property determines proportionally how much each taxpayer will pay of that total amount. When values rise dramatically in some areas, but not all, it can result in a shift, causing some taxpayers to pay more than others. 

Each year, County Assessors set values on every commercial and residential property value in the state. These values – set effective as of January 1 by state law – are then applied to the next year’s tax bill.  Property values are being set as of January 1, 2022, for taxes due in 2023.