Property Taxes Are Confusing
We Can Forecast Them
In Washington, property taxes are calculated based on two major variables:
Assessed value: the number at which Assessor values a property
Levy rates: the number (in dollars per $1000 of Assessed value) that, when applied to all assessed values, generates the required revenues.
In the commercial space, have you underwritten forecasts that say “property tax will grow at 3% per year for 5 years”? Is that right? Chances are it is absolutely not.
As an example, here is a table of the annual change in tax amounts for two, similarly sized multifamily complexes from 2021 to 2026:
| Tax Year | Apartment 1 Tax Change | Apartment 2 Tax Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | -9% | 0% |
| 2022 | -13% | 1% |
| 2023 | 4% | 6% |
| 2024 | 3% | -2% |
| 2025 | -7% | -15% |
| 2026 | 4% | 1% |
| Annualized | -2.2% | -5.4% |
Despite similar sizes, vintages, and locations the tax liabilities fluctuate very differently.
Don’t be caught unaware: our tax forecasts are reliably accurate long before published levy rates are available.
In fall of 2025 we were able to provide forecasts within 0.7% of the official levy rates, allowing accurate planning for 2026 tax bills.
For these apartments our client was able to budget at 101.2% and 100.6%, respectively, of the actual 2026 tax bills to come as early as October 2025.
Contact us for your own tax forecast!