Foreclosures spur $500M drop in property assessments for once-booming West Virginia county

W.Va. county sees assessments drop by $500M

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — Foreclosures have driven down real estate property assessments by more than $500 million in a single year in Jefferson County.

County Assessor Angela Banks told county commissioners Thursday that residential and commercial property, which was assessed at over $3.5 billion a year ago, is now worth about $3 billion.

Banks says the average property value is down 17 percent, with some larger homes losing up to $150,000 of their value since last year.

The national foreclosure crisis has hit Eastern Panhandle counties like Jefferson harder than other parts of West Virginia.

Banks says some neighborhoods saw so many foreclosures that the value of all the homes around them plummeted in value.

To make up the lost revenue, property tax rates will go up.