Lowering real estate levy from 73 to 50 cents will still increase county revenues by 1 percent; budget meetings planned over next two months
“[The] Goal is to get all properties close to fair market value; not apply a uniform increase across the board,” reads a Dec. 1, 2025 report presented to the Page County Board of Supervisors by Jason Cowan of Cowan Services, LLC. In the spring of 2024, the board of supervisors awarded a two-year contract worth $537,624 to the Southwest Virginia firm to conduct the county’s next reassessment of real estate. The 18-month process began July 1, 2024 and ended in late 2025.
New reassessed values took effect Jan. 1, 2026.
State law requires that reassessment must be conducted at least every five years; although areas that show rapid growth, like North Virginia, will see localities conduct reassessment annually.
“The assessments are tailored by age, condition, location, zoning, acreage range, size of home, etc. They will all experience different rates of increase or even decrease based upon the previous assessment, current market forces, and the particular facts regarding each property,” Cowan’s report reads.
For most Page County homes, values increased between 53 to 57 percent over the past five years. According to figures provided by Cowan (based on Bright MSL data), when the previous reassessment was conducted, the average closing price for a home in Page County stood at $253,707. During the 90-day period prior to his Dec. 1 presentation, that figure had risen to $352,136 — an increase of 38.8 percent.
The Virginia Department of Taxation, according to Cowan’s report, estimates the assessment level in Page County as of Jan. 1, 2024 was at 62.14 percent of the actual market value. This is approximately 38 percent lower than the desired level of 100 percent of market value.
During his presentation last month, Cowan showed extreme cases — such as a home on Jordan Hollow Road that sold for $442,000 in November, despite only being assessed for $248,300. The deficit of $193,700 would require a 78-percent increase in the assessed value to meet current market value (the sale price). Another example was given on Skyview Drive, where a home sold for $321,000, while only being assessed at $171,900 — a difference fo 86 percent.
The dramatic jumps in real estate values has had the phones ringing off the hook in the office of Page County Commissioner of Revenue Rebecca Smith.
“Reassessment notices were sent out last week. As expected, they were met with shock, surprise and anger. My office has been fielding dozens of questions each day in regards to the dramatic increase of property values shown on the reassessments,” reads a public statement posted on social media by Smith at 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30.
“As your Commissioner, I share your concerns,” Smith states in the release. “The assessment on our home increased dramatically, as did most of yours. Acting in my capacity as Commissioner of the Revenue, I have reached out to every member of the Board of Supervisors to share with them the impact this will have on county taxpayers. As such, they have agreed with my recommendation that the real estate tax rate needs to be lowered substantially.”
While state law requires each locality to keep assessed property values in line with fair market value, it does not as strictly regulate the rate at which a locality may legislate its levy. Again, according to figures presented by Cowan, the board of supervisors could lower the tax rate on real estate from its current level of $0.73 per $100 of assessed value, to $0.50, and still generate a 1-percent increase in county revenues.
The process is called “equalization”, as it aims to adjust the tax rate in order to create the same tax burden. Over the next few months, the supervisors will be discussing that potential throughout a series of planned budget meetings, while also weighing the financial requests of various departments and the rising costs of providing the same services…from first responders to the landfill. In 2025, the county collected $17.8 million in county real estate taxes. If the rate remains unchanged, that amount would balloon to $27.3 million.
In trying to explain the large increases, Smith tried to summarize the past five years and what has proven to be one of the biggest housing boons in the county’s history. The average price of a home in Page County has doubled in seven years — from $173,272 in 2018 to $357,315 for the claendar year in 2025. The Commissioner of the Revenue told the same story that many local Realtors have shared.
“The question remains — why are the assessed values so much higher than they were in 2021? The answer to that can be traced in no small part, to COVID. It is no secret that people in densely populated Northern Virginia and Maryland were looking to move to rural areas during and after the COVID pandemic. Telework made this even easier for many of them. They were even willing to pay far above a sellers’ asking value for a home, for a chance to live here in our beautiful county,” Smith stated. “Assessments are comparative. If a home previously assessed at $200,000 sells for $300,000, all similar homes will then be assessed at $300,000. There have been numerous instances of homes in Page County selling for three times the assessed value.”
In a year-to-year comparison, the average sold price of a home in Page County grew 11 percent from 2024 to 2025 alone — from $322,139 to $357,315, according to figures provided by longtime Luray Realtor Bill Dudley.
“I can remember in Page County when a home sold for $100,000, which was a really big event [to cross that milestone],” Dudley told PVN during an interview last summer. Today, homes valued at more than $250,000 make up 73 percent of all home sales in Page County. “Costs driven by the increased cost of building materials is certainly a factor as well. We are starting to see more adjustments in listing prices downward, as some listings start to stay on the market longer.”
Currently, there are 77 active listings for residential homes in the county, according to Dudley — down from 95 when we checked in last summer. Although the year-to-year comparisons show a nominal difference in the number of homes sold (255 to 259) and “days on market” (58 to 59), the number of sales slowed in the first half of 2025.
“I feel that we are seeing slower sales due to several factors,” Dudley said. “High interest rates, near the 7-percent range are certainly a negative force in the market. In the big picture, our current rates are really not that bad and we have seen much worse, but home buyers saw 2 and 3 percent [interest rates] over the last few years… but I just don’t think we will see that again.
“The increased cost for a home puts many want-to-be buyers out of the market,” added Dudley, noting that especially holds true for local home buyers. “The uncertainty in the economy regarding employment and the cost of daily living… and the volatility in the markets… have certainly put a damper on things and caused potential buyers to put off making the decision to buy a home.”
Supervisors are expected to advertise their proposed tax rates in April and set those rates soon after a scheduled public hearing. Once the tax rates are set, the board will word toward a final budget vote in May. The new spending plan would go into effect on July 1, 2026.
Taxpayers will not feel the effects of reassessed values until tax bills become due on real estate June 5. By then, the new tax rates will be set and the 2026-27 budget should be approved.
“If you have specific questions regarding your reassessment, or if you feel it may be incorrect, please contact the reassessment firm, Cowan Services at 540-391-0779 to schedule an appointment,” Smith stated in her release.
Appeals are a two-step process. Informal appeals, where the taxpayer and assessor discuss or review together the assessment, may be written, in person, or over the phone. This is followed up by a more formal hearing before the Board of Equalization Appeals, usually held from April to August.
255 — 2024
250 — 2023
$322,139 — 2024
$305,944 — 2023
$282,000 — 2024
$259,000 — 2023
58 — 2024
53 — 2023
25 — 2024
12 — 2023
173 — 2024
139 — 2023
Home sales fall 17%, but prices continue to climb
I hope the county will lobby the legislature to allow increased taxes on vacant buildings. These, particularly on Main Street in Luray, negatively affect the community and the tax base for the county.