State revenue officials are reporting the largest increase in the value of real and personal property in Maine in a decade.
The 2020 increase over the previous valuation was just under $10 billion, or around 5.5 percent. That's the highest year-over-year growth since 2008.
State Property Tax Director Justin Poirier says the state valuation is important because it is used by several different state agencies as they provide state monies to local governments.
“Municipal revenue sharing, the state valuation number is plugged into that funding formula,” says Poirier. “It's also plugged into the Department of Education, how they divvy out education subsidy. County taxes are apportioned based on those state valuation numbers.”
He says the new numbers show the Maine real estate market is still humming along with signs of more growth in the future.
“We're still seeing indications that the real estate market is still growing moving forward even into the next year. Out field staff is already on the ground, already starting the next cycle.”
And Poirier says many local school districts use state valuation numbers in local funding formulas for their member communities.
He says the new numbers show the Maine real estate market is still humming along.
Poirier says the valuation takes 18 months. The new numbers indicate the increase in valuation from April 1, 2017 to April 1, 2018.
