Dear Jan: The new 2013 tax statements are now out. The value in my home has gone down yet again. Since we are preparing our home for a fall market, do we need to worry about these numbers? —MJC

Dear MJC: Yes, we all got those lovely assessments. And in most areas, the numbers are down per the tax assessor.

The way those numbers have affected the market in the last couple of years has been negative. Buyers were not willing to offer much above the assessed value.

However, on Kitsap County’s own website, the 2011-12 Sales Price Percentage over Assessed Value Chart which shows the numbers have been going up since about April. (If you need a link to the chart, let me know, I would be happy to send it to you.)

The Bay Area in California shows activity and prices up and they are receiving many multiple offers. We usually follow suit with that so we are in a changing market.

Just today I received an article from KCAR that quotes Zillow as saying, “The Zillow Home Value Forecast shows in most markets prices will rise modestly over the next year.”

Therefore, at some point, the buyers will have to stop looking at the negative numbers and realize that they need to jump on board while they still can as the numbers will be going up. Personally, and I hope I am not wrong, I think that this last assessment won’t hold as much weight as in previous years.