Riverside COVID-19 Adjustments

The Cook County Assessor’s Office (CCAO) is responsible for producing estimates of value of real properties in Cook County, and was scheduled to revalue properties in the South and West Suburbs in 2020. Riverside properties were revalued in early 2020. The CCAO mailed reassessment notices on February 11, 2020, and produced reports on these initial valuations. 

After the completion of this work, however, the COVID-19 pandemic led to substantial economic, social, and market effects. These economic and market effects can have corresponding effects on real property values of some (but not all) commercial sectors.

To account for the pandemic’s impact on real estate values throughout Cook County’s neighborhoods and communities, the Cook County Assessor determined that it is appropriate to apply COVID-19 Adjustments to property values in 2020, where applicable – even for property owners who did not file an appeal.

The CCAO re-calculated estimates of value of Riverside homes, and many Riverside commercial properties. The CCAO implemented adjustments after our analysts had completed processing of appeals. 

• Where can I find my property’s assessed value?
• Residential Property Adjustments
• Commercial Property Adjustments
• Calculating and Mailing Final Values
• Impact

Where can I find my property’s assessed value?

CCAO certified-final values for 2020 include any effects of the 2020 reassessment, appeals, and any applicable COVID adjustment.

After certification, these final values were published on the CCAO website, and a letter was mailed to the property’s owner.

To view the property’s Assessor-finalized 2020 value online:

1. Find property by PIN or address at https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/address-search 
    
2. The “Assessed Valuation” section contains the CCAO Certified Final 2020 Valuation. It incorporates applicable reductions resulting from any appeal and/or COVID Adjustment.

More information about the calculation of adjustments are below.

Residential Property Adjustments

For Class 2 single-family homes, condos, and small multi-family apartments, the CCAO applied a percent reduction to the estimated Fair Market Value (and therefore the assessed value). For example, a home with a pre-COVID estimated Fair Market Value (FMV) of $100,000 might have received a 12% COVID adjustment. This would result in a COVID-Adjusted FMV of $88,000. The property’s assessed value would also decrease 12%, from $10,000 to $8,800.

• To find a property’s assessed value as certified final by the CCAO, after the effects of reassessment, appeals, and COVID adjustments, find a property and view its “Assessed Valuation” details.
   
• More information:
  • Map of adjustments by neighborhood: https://public.tableau.com/profile/ccao#!/ 
  • Report and FAQs: https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/covid19 

Commercial Property Adjustments

The CCAO determined ranges of adjustments to the capitalization rates (“cap rates”), which are one part of the equation used to calculate many commercial property values. Properties deemed not negatively affected by COVID were not adjusted. See the report on COVID-19 Adjustments in the South and West Suburbs.

Commercial properties were re-valued by adjusting cap rates of many sectors. When cap rates increase, estimates of Fair Market Value (FMV) decrease, thus decreasing assessed value. Below, we provide an example in each category of a Riverside property’s estimated market value before and after COVID adjustments.

Please note that the below values are Fair Market Values (FMV), or an estimate of the property's likely sale price. Assessed values are a percentage of FMV. 

Calculating and Mailing Final Values

Any COVID adjustments made to residential and non-residential commercial property values were applied during the appeals process.

1. For properties with an associated appeal, an appeal result letter was mailed.
    
2. Then, for properties subject to COVID adjustments outside of an appeal, a COVID-19 adjustment letter was sent to each property owner confirming the property’s adjusted 2020 Assessed Value, as finalized by the Assessor.

Note that even after a COVID-19 Adjustment to value, a property's 2020 assessed value might still have increased relative to a prior year – particularly if there were significant increases in property values since the last reassessment.

Impact

Below, we show how total assessed values have changed from the initial assessed values mailed to property owners, to the CCAO’s final certified values, following adjustments from appeals and COVID.
 

It’s important to note that the impact of these assessment adjustments on individual tax bills for Tax Year 2020 cannot be determined yet. The following steps also occur before 2020 assessed values impact bills for tax year 2020:

• Taxing districts certify their property tax levies, which affects the amount of property tax dollars billed to owners of properties in that taxing district.
   
• The Cook County Board of Review has an opportunity to review and revise any property’s assessed value. 
   
• The Illinois Department of Revenue calculates Cook County’s Equalization Factor (also called the Multiplier). The Equalization Factor is applied to assessed values to produce each property’s Equalized Assessed Value (EAV). 
   
• Exemptions are applied to EAVs.
   
• The Cook County Clerk calculates local 2020 tax rates using each taxing district’s levy and total EAV

These adjustments to 2020 assessed values would affect the tax year 2020 second-installment property tax bill, issued by the Cook County Treasurer in summer 2021.