News Flash

- The value of all properties in Hampton declined slightly – just under 1% – in 2013,
said City Assessor Brian Gordineer. While that means values still fell, it’s the best showing for property values in several years.

Home values dropped 1.8%, though a majority of the city’s residences held onto their previous
value. Foreclosures remained a factor in 12% of Hampton’s property transfers, contributing to keeping sales prices low. But there were more property transfers last year, said Gordineer, who sees
signs that the market is continuing to improve.

Both multifamily and commercial properties showed very slight gains in value. Those gains weren’t enough to offset the decline in all residential properties, which make up more than half the value of
all property in the city.

The total “land book” or property valuation for Hampton is $13.8 billion. That’s a 6.7% decline since values began to slide in fiscal year 2011, but the smallest year-to-year drop.

Hampton has seen an increase in properties that aren’t subject to taxes – either because they’re
exempt (such as churches and schools) or because they are subject to tax-relief programs. The proportion was less than a quarter of the city’s properties four years ago but has since crept up to
26.8%.

That’s bad news for the city’s revenues, as it means the value of taxable properties dropped 1.21%, larger than the decline of all properties. Each percentage-point drop in the valuation of taxable land
equates to about $1 million less in revenue for city and school operations.

View the annual mapand the five-year residential change map.