Under State law, if the current market value of your property (recent comparable sales) falls below the assessed or taxable value as shown on your tax bill, the Assessor’s Office is required to lower the assessment. There are two periods during the year in which the taxpayer may appeal their assessed value for a temporary reduction:

(1) Between March through May:
During this period, the taxpayer may submit a written request to the Assessor, indicating their opinion of value and providing supporting documentation, such as sales of comparable properties or a recent appraisal. For more information, call (858) 505-6262.

(2) Between July 2 and November 30:
During this period, the taxpayer must file an application form. Appeal forms can be obtained and must be filed with the Clerk of the Board at 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 402, San Diego, CA 92101-2471. For more information, call (619) 531-5777.

Here is also a link to the Assessment Appeals Board where you will find additional information:.

I do expect the numbers to go up in February as during January I’ve seen more buyer activity and also sellers seem to be more motivated. March is the month that I expect the numbers to rise significantly as the buyer activity has dramatically increased during February.

The president signed today the economic stimulus package, which among others includes the increase to conforming and FHA loan limits, so it sould be effective pretty soon. By the way some lenders were offering conforming loans with the higher loan limit ($729,750) since last week in anticipation of today’s signing.