Mat-Su property values rise as new builds reach 7-year high

PALMER — Property values in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough increased an average of 8.3% over last year, borough property assessment officials told the Assembly on Tuesday, even as the rate of new home construction reached a seven-year high.

Property assessments calculated each January are used to create borough property tax bills, which are distributed in June. Those bills are based on the assessed property value paired with the borough’s current mill rate, which is set as part of the annual budget process each spring.

In 2024 the area-wide tax rate for borough property owners was 8.748 mills, or $874.80 per $100,000 of assessed property value. Whether that rate changes this year will be based on the borough’s upcoming budget, finance officials said Tuesday. Property taxes are the primary source of Mat-Su borough government funding.

About 768 new single-family homes, 127 multifamily homes and 68 commercial buildings were added to the borough last year, according to borough data. That’s a roughly 25% increase over new construction in 2023 and the highest volume of new builds in the borough since 2018.

The average assessed value of a single-family home in Mat-Su for 2025 is $388,091, up about 5% from 2024, acting Borough Assessor Art Godin said at the meeting.

Of the 81,718 property parcels across the borough, 45,742 are currently used for residential purposes, 1,847 are used for multifamily homes and 31,321 are vacant land, he said.

Blue property value assessment postcards will be mailed to residents this month, borough officials said.

Because the 8.3% increase is an average calculated based on all taxable properties across the borough, some property owners will see value increases higher than 8.3%, while others might see smaller increases or, in some cases, decreases, borough officials said.

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The total value of all property in the borough is about $20.2 billion, Godin said. Only about 70% of that is taxable because of exemptions, including those for senior citizens and disabled veterans, he said.

Property tax assessments take into account the value of both the land and the structures on it. Factors considered in setting assessed values include property improvements and home upgrades, Godin said.

“We spent a significant amount of time out in the field this year, we really had the appraisers out in the field working geographically, property to property,” he said. “A huge part of our job is making sure we’re valuing properties equitably.”

Residents who disagree with their assessment and want to file an appeal can contact the borough assessor’s office, officials said.

Many appeals can be resolved with a phone call, Borough Manager Mike Brown said at the meeting.

“We’re not trying to discourage anyone from appealing,” he said. “But it’s helpful if they make a phone call because a lot of times it might just be a simple difference in terms of what we have in our system in the inventory for that property.”

In 2024, 96 individuals asked the borough to alter their property tax assessment, according to borough data presented at the meeting.

Of those, 74 individuals worked directly with officials to adjust an assessment without a hearing or ultimately dropped their appeal, officials said, while another 22 requested a hearing. Of those who requested a hearing, six ultimately had their assessed property value adjusted by the borough.

Republished with permission from the Mat-Su Sentinel, an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan online news source. Contact Amy Bushatz at abushatz@matsusentinel.com.