The Eastham 2020 Tax Assessments Are Available Now

I met with Belinda Eyestone, the Eastham Town Assessor. Eastham's 2020 assessment data is available now. The new assessments are shown on the Assessor's Field Cards, already uploaded on the Town's website. She gave me the 'highlights'. A few data points...

• The 2020 assessment information is intended to represent home values as of 1/1/2019
• The median single family residential home assessment for 2020 is $440,100, up 3.0% from the 2019 median assessment
• The average assessed value is $511,743 (up 3.3%)
• There were 5,144 single family homes in Eastham as of 1/1/2019  (up 7 from 1/1/2018)
• The total assessed value for Eastham's single family residences is $2.632 Billion (up 3.5%)

The 2020 real estate tax rate for Eastham will be $8.72 per thousand (up 47 cents). The tax on the median-valued home will be $3,838, up 8.8%. (Ugh!)

The 2019 assessments for individual homes are available now on the Town of Eastham website. 

Eastham Vacation Home Rentals and Taxes

We saw this train coming. I've been against this new tax since it reared its ugly head a few years ago. On January 1st a new short term rental tax went into effect for rentals after July 1st. For the Town of Eastham, the breakdown will be as follows:

• 5.7% to the state
• 4% to Eastham via the state. This is the same rate as hotels and B&Bs currently pay. Municipalities can raise the rate as high as 6%, but Eastham has no current plan to do so. Raising the rate beyond the 4% would require approval at Town Meeting.
• 2.75% to Eastham via a state water commission. For appropriate waste water/water quality projects.
• Note - the law provides for an additional 3% tax for more than 1 rental in each town. Eastham is not imposing this part of the law.
• Total – 12.45%

Since this is state-wide, it applies to every town in the state. There are a few other pertinent facts. ...

• Short term - any rental of 31 days or less
• Home exempt if rented less than 14 days per year
• Rental homes must be registered in a new State database
• Moneys to be collected by the party that collects the rent (rental agencies, internet rental companies, etc)
• Homes must have $1M liability insurance coverage

The Town has nicely put up a web-page that covers this new law...HERE.

How will it affect rentals in Eastham? Certainly, the cost to a summer tenant will go up dramatically, but will it reduce the number of summer rentals? I think not. I travel a bit and stay in hotels. When I book a room I care about what I pay. But when I check out I simply pay the taxes. They aren't negotiable. Since all of Massachusetts is subject to these taxes, I don't feel that there will be any long-term reduction is short term rentals. My sympathy goes out to all the individual rental owners and those Mom and Pop rental companies that now have to sort out how they will comply with this new law. Ugh!

2017 Eastham Assessment Information - Interesting!

I met with Belinda Eyestone, the Eastham Town Assessor. Eastham's 2017 assessment data is available now, quite a bit earlier than last year. She gave me the 'highlights'. A few data points...

• The 2017 assessment information is intended to represent home values as of 1/1/2016
• The median single family residential home assessment for 2017 is $404,800, up 3.1% from the 2016 median assessment
• The average assessed value is $467,642 (up 2.2%)
• There were 5,118 single family homes in Eastham as of 1/1/2016  (up 12 from 2015)
• The total assessed value for Eastham's single family residences is $2.393 Billion (up 2.4%)

The 2017 real estate tax rate for Eastham will be $7.90/thousand (up 6.2%). The tax on the median-valued home will be $3,198.

The 2017 assessments for individual homes are available now on the Town of Eastham website...Here. The newspaper formatted version of the assessments is no longer available.

Eastham's 2016 Tax Assessments

I met with Belinda Eyestone, the Eastham Town Assessor. Eastham's 2016 assessment data is available now, quite a bit earlier than last year. She gave me the 'highlights'. A few data points...

• The 2016 assessment information is intended to represent home values as of 1/1/2015
• The median single family residential home assessment for 2016 is $392,550, up 2.6% from the 2015 median assessment
• The average assessed value is $457,583 (up 2.7%)
• There were 5,106 single family homes in Eastham as of 1/1/2015  (up 3 from 2014)
• The total assessed value for Eastham's single family residences is $2.336 Billion (up 2.7%)

The 2016 real estate tax rate for Eastham will be $7.44/thousand (up 4.8%). The tax on the median-valued home will be $2,925.

The 2016 assessments for individual homes should be available soon on the Town of Eastham website...Here. The newspaper formatted version of the assessments will no longer be available.