Source: City of Minot Assessor’s Office

Home sale prices strengthened in Minot in 2020 as the number of sales also climbed.

That is causing home valuations for tax purposes to also go up in many Minot neighborhoods. According to the annual report of the Minot City Assessor’s Office, the city’s residential assessments were about 7% below selling prices in 2020.

The assessor’s office is recommending adjustments to neighborhoods that will bring overall residential assessments up by roughly 2%. The Minot City Council, meeting as the Minot Board of Equalization, will consider assessment recommendations and any appeals next Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall.

The 2021 full property valuation within Minot is estimated to be about $4.58 billion, or about a 1.7% increase from 2020, according to the assessor’s office. This comes on top of a 1% increase in total valuations from 2019 to 2020.

The increase largely is the result of an assessment hike for many homes, along with increases in utility assessments, according to the assessor’s report.

The median residential assessment increased from $182,000 to $187,000.

Assessor records indicate the average sale price, based on 756 home sales, was $223,000 for 2020, compared to $213,000 for 2019 on 643 sales. The average home sale price in Minot was $225,000 in 2018 and $218,000 in 2017.

Assessor records include all homes that are sold with or without a Realtor. Minot Multiple Listing records property sold with a Realtor and indicates a median sale price for homes sold in Minot in 2020 of $219,000, up from $209,500 in 2019, the assessor’s office reported.

MML also calculates average home sale prices, including condos and townhomes. That average price was $231,204 in 2020, which compares to $221,831 in 2019. It was the highest average sale price since $231,479 in 2016.

MML recorded 809 homes sold in Minot in 2020, up from 746 in 2019 and 635 in 2018.

MML reports sale prices remain strong into 2021. Currently, MML is listing 184 homes on the market. Homes are selling on average in 62 days. That compares with 264 homes on the market in March 2019 with an average of 100 days on the market.

While residential sales prices have been running ahead of assessment values, the opposite has been true with commercial property in Minot. The assessor’s office is recommending a 4% decrease in total commercial valuation to bring assessments and sales prices more in line.

Significant adjustments of 30% to 40% downward were made to motels/hotels. Other classes of commercial building assessments are going down overall about 1.3% from a median of $479,000 to $473,000. This compares to a 1.4% increase last year.

Other statistics of interest in the assessor’s report include:

– 21 homes sold in Minot for over $500,000, not including homes purchased directly from a contractor or built in 2020.

– New taxable commercial construction in 2020 was about $71.8 million, compared to $23 million in 2019.

– New taxable residential construction in 2020 was about $33 million, compared to about $21.5 million 2019.

– The city has issued 479 Disabled Veterans Credits and 404 Homestead Credits. Total property-tax exemptions account for nearly $274.5 million. Hospital and church properties make up the largest share.

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Minot tax ranks high

The consolidated property tax levy in Minot in 2020 was the second highest among North Dakota’s 12 largest cities, according to Minot’s 2021 Annual Assessor’s Report.

Minot’s estimated tax of $1,869 on a $125,000 residential property was behind Wahpeton’s $2,053, followed by $1,826 in Jamestown and $1,819 in Valley City. Minot’s estimated tax on $125,000 in commercial property was $2,077, which compared to $2,281 in Wahpeton, $2,029 in Jamestown and $2,021 in Valley City.

The state’s lowest estimated tax was in Williston. The estimated tax was $1,095 on $125,000 in residential property and $1,217 on $125,000 in commercial property.