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Loudoun County home values plummet $4B
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Loudoun County's Sterling District has been hardest hit since foreclosures began to grow in the local area last year.
Washington DC (Map, News) - Loudoun County home values plummeted $4 billion last year, setting the stage for a difficult budget battle in one of the nation's fastest-growing and wealthiest counties.
The average house lost 10 percent of its worth as the eastern portion of the county was especially hit hard by the housing market's decline.
However, the strength of the commercial market and continued homebuilding softened the hit, keeping overall county property values steady at about $68 billion.
After increasing property values gave the county an influx of new revenue for years, the county would have to raise tax rates to provide any new money this year, Loudoun County Assessor Todd Kaufman told The Examiner.
"It becomes self evident that the portfolio hasn't changed that much," he said.
The county Board of Supervisors is expected to face about a $250 million deficit and begins its budget negotiations later this month.
The housing-market bubble, rising foreclosures and credit struggles have sent property values tumbling across the Washington region and led to grim budget forecasts in neighboring Prince William and Fairfax counties.
Home values declined most severely in the Sterling District, where the average home lost more than one-sixth of its value in one year, or 17.8 percent, while homes in Leesburg's home of the Catoctin District lost about 4 percent.
"A 17 percent drop in residential values represents hundreds of millions of dollars in value," Sterling District Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio said. He contended one reason for the drop is lax enforcement of zoning laws, including home overcrowding and parking tractor-trailers in neighborhoods.
County Executive Kirby Bowers is set to brief the board on the budget Feb. 11.
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6:34 AM MST on Sun., Feb. 3, 2008 re: "Loudoun County home values plummet $4B"
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7:46 PM MST on Sat., Feb. 2, 2008
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10:55 AM MST on Sat., Feb. 2, 2008
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Jonathan said:
The Catoctin District is represented by Sally Kurtz, the only Democratic representative to Loudoun's 2003-2007 Board of Supervisors (BoS). The Sterling District is represented by Eugene Delgaudio, a Republican, and executive director of the "pro-family" Public Advocate USA. Delgaudio is the only Republican to retain his seat in the 2007 election. His campaign raised nearly $300,000 from real estate development interests who were granted special consideration from the 2003-2007 Republican-led Board of Supervisors. The 2003-2007 board orchestrated the massive development build-out that lead to the current budget shortfall. This is Delgaudio's third term. If there are problems in Sterling, he has no one to blame but himself.
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Examiner Reader said:
Cut LCPS Budget. Put all new school construction on HOLD.
75 agree | 70 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The county can do what everyone else will need to do. Spend less.
60 agree | 58 disagree
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