Ocean City’s Assessable Base Climbs 46% To $12.8 Billion

Ocean City’s Assessable Base Climbs 46% To $12.8 Billion
Ocean City’s property values were found to have jumped 46% in the latest reassessment. Photo by Chris Parypa

SNOW HILL – Property values rose 46.1% in Worcester County, according to the state’s latest reassessment.

The Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) announced the 2024 reassessment of nearly 800,000 “Group 3” properties last week. Statewide, the overall value for that group of properties was up 23.4% since the last reassessment three years ago. Here in Worcester County, there was a 46.1% increase in the value of properties reassessed.

“For six consecutive years, all 23 counties and Baltimore City have experienced an increase in residential and commercial property values, indicating that owning a home or business in Maryland continues to be a good investment,” said SDAT Director Michael Higgs. “SDAT is pleased to provide our customers with new and improved reassessment notices this year and, as part of our Tax Credit Awareness Campaign, each reassessment notice includes information about the Departments’ Homeowners’ and Homestead Tax Credits, which save Marylanders more than $260 million in taxes each year.”

According to SDAT, the overall statewide increase was higher than the 20.6% increase recorded in 2023, representing an average increase in value of 25.6% for all residential properties and 17.6% for all commercial properties since the last Group 3 reassessment in 2021.

The 2024 assessments for Group 3 properties were based on an evaluation of 85,904 sales that occurred within the group over the last three years. If the reassessment resulted in a property value being adjusted, any increase in value will be phased-in equally over the next three years, while any decrease in value will be fully implemented in the 2024 tax year. For the 2024 reassessment, 96.6% of Group 3 residential properties saw an increase in property value.

In Worcester Couty, Group 3 residential values increased from $7,837,587,900 in 2021 to $11,576,277,100 in 2024, a 47.7% increase. Commercial values jumped from $926,276,300 in 2021 to $1,227,132,100, a 32.5% increase. Combined, the county’s residential and commercial Group 3 values increased from $8,763,864,200 to $12,803,409,200, or 46.1%.

Property tax assessment notices were mailed to property owners Dec. 28. A map of which properties fall into Groups 1, 2, and 3 and their respective years for reassessment can be viewed on SDAT’s website.

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.