Land, mobile homes, city center condos see largest increases in value in Spokane County this year

Yahoo

19 hours ago

Jun. 6—Vacant land and mobile homes are hot commodities, according to the latest data from the Spokane County Assessor's Office.
Property owners across the county began receiving their property assessments for 2026 taxes this week that serve as the county's estimates as of Jan. 1. They tend to be lower than what a property would fetch on the market, and year-over-year increases and decreases usually vary neighborhood to neighborhood.
Spokane County Assessor Tom Konis said that of the nearly 215,000 properties appraised by his office this year, rural lands, manufactured homes and condos at the city's core saw the largest increases in value for residential properties. The value of the average Spokane County home climbed from $428,617 to $435,028 this year, a 1.5% increase following the county's first decrease last year after a decade on the rise.
Spokane County home values have more than doubled in the last seven years, growing from an average of $209,659 in 2018 to around $430,000 for the past three years.
"The residential real estate market appears to have calmed down in most areas," Konis said in a written statement. "Additionally, land is in high demand and prices continue to rise."
Southern Spokane County properties near Spangle, Fairfield, Rockford and south of Cheney saw the biggest increase, with residential properties to the east of U.S. Highway 195 growing in value at an average of 5.9%, and properties to the west of the thoroughfare slightly behind at a rate of 4.5%.
The growing allure of rural lands is consistent across the county, Spokane County Deputy Assessor Joe Hollenback said.
Vacant land, whether zoned for commercial or residential use, saw an average increase countywide of around 10%, according to Assessor's Office data.
Manufactured homes on leased land grew in value by a whopping 13%, which Konis said he believes is because of their affordability.
Demand is growing as other entry-level housing becomes more unaffordable. Recent legislation limiting rent increases of the land and mobile home parks the structures sit on could further fuel their popularity.
Rounding out the increases this year are the residential units in downtown Spokane and Kendall Yards, which saw an average increase of nearly 9%. That's despite commercial office buildings seeing a decline of 6% and losing tens of millions in assessed value over the past five years, as previously reported by The Spokesman-Review.
Konis said homeowners can use the assessments they have, or are soon to receive, to get an idea of what their 2026 tax bill will be by using the estimator tool available on the county's website.
Launched in 2022, the tax estimator tool provides a ballpark of what homeowners can expect; it is not a comprehensive prediction. That's largely because the assessor's office can't calculate tax bills until late December. County staff can only set levy rates once they know every local government budget and every voter-approved levy and bond issue.
The largest chunk of a homeowner's taxes — often more than 50% — goes to schools. About 15% of Spokane County property taxes go to cities and towns. Fire districts get about 12% of the pie, and the county government receives 8%. Smaller pieces go toward road funds, libraries, cemeteries and parks.