Coachella Valley assessed valuations grow

Public Record, The, Aug 21, 1998

Assessed valuation for Coachella Valley property is increasing, but not at the double-digit levels of the 1980s. Although there are signs that the depressed real estate market of the early 1990s is ending, the boom years have not yet returned.

The Riverside County Assessor's Office reports property value at nearly $75.8 billion for the fiscal year that ended June 30. This is an increase of 1.66 percent, or $1.2 billion from the previous fiscal year.

For the Coachella Valley, assessment was at $23.6 billion, an increase of $316 million, or 1.4 percent, slightly below the county's level of increase. The Valley represents about a third of the county's total assessment value.

Although overall values increased, a number of properties showed decreases in assessed valuation. In the Coachella Valley, 75,000 properties were reduced by $2.3 billion.

The largest reductions were $544 million in Palm Springs, $403 million in Palm Desert and $340 million in Rancho Mirage.

The west part of the Valley represented by the Palm Springs Unified School District saw a drop of 0.5 percent. However, many areas of the Coachella Valley showed strong growth in assessed valuation.

The central part of the Valley, the area represented by the Desert Sands School District, saw the largest growth at 4.15 percent. This represents more than half the Valley's net taxable value.

Also increasing was the area of the Coachella Valley School District in the east valley, showing a growth of 2.7 percent.

Coachella Valley cities were a mixed bag of increases and decreases in assessed valuation. On the growth side, La Quinta showed an increase of 6.5 percent, followed by Palm Desert at 3.6 percent, Indian Wells at 3.3 percent, Indio at 2.4 percent and Coachella at 2.3 percent.

Four Coachella Valley cities lost assessed valuation. The biggest drop was Desert Hot Springs with a loss of -4.7 percent. It was followed by Palm Springs at 2.1 percent, Rancho Mirage at -1.2 percent and Cathedral City at -0.9 percent.