The Washington times., 1919-01-15
D. c. REALTY
ASSESSMENTS
SLIGHT.
R|SEOvER 1917.
BY BILL PRICE.


owner of property in the District IN
ne completion a few days ago OF the
trienniaI assessments of real estate
by Assessor Richards, and his staff
81 assistants.
oThese assessments, unless changed
as q result of appeals, will become
Effective July /, 1919, and will be the
basis for the collection of taxes in the
following fiscal year.
EThe assessments are open for in
spection and every property owner
dissatisfied with them has the right
ef appeal, until the first Monday in
June, 1919.
pThe total assessment is slightly
above that of the last biennial assess
nsent, upon which taxes are now being
paid. This assessment was S2OS.O9I.-
oe5 for land and 06,513,666 for i'm
movements, a total Of $414.61O,69l
The new assessments are not based
On the "war prices" at which much
: Property sold in this city in war days.
An attempt has been made by Assess
or Richards to equalize assessments
n regard to both buildings and
grounds, based on sales made during
ne last four or five years under nor
NAL conditions.
Assessments Little Changed.
= In suburban sections practically no
ehanges have been made in the val
nations OF large acreages and few
have been made in the various sub
divisions. Some equalization has been
attempted in a few subdivisions where
there is or has been moderate actiV-
ny.
In the northeast, southeast, and
Southwest portions OF the District,
ally the same as at present, with a
Tendency to equalize downward rath-
CT than to make raises
In the northwest section, the as
SCISSOR finds that there has been a
tendency upward IN some spots. but
IN general in this section, values have
not been much disturbed.
:. In the business section Of the city
values have been stationary for at
least three-fourths OF the area, but
there has been a decided advance to-
ward the northwest portion of the
area. notably west OF Seventeenth
street In the vicinity Of Pennsylvania
GEsnue- Here Government activities
have been extremely heavy, and the
effect has been felt on values Of busi-
ness properties
Big Prents Reported.
ePersons who owned property i in
that section tn the last few years are
aid to have sold At large profits. In
the language OF the real estate world.
sAn sorts OF property there is getting
setion-"
aIncluded In the new big structures
in that area in recent years are
The Interior Department. Commerce,
Interstate Commerce. and Powhatan
Hotel buildings. Residential prop
critics have been turned into stores
and restaurants. There is little
probability that Government activi-
Ties in that region will greatly de-
erease. the assessors say.
- A most interesting fact is that
John A Beeler's skip-stops" on the
street railways have been important
IN valuation OF business properties.
In some parts of the city business
Property has deprecated considerably,
owing to "skip-stops" diverting
Tansients into new directions. In
othets values have increased. A
notable instance of this is said to be
IN + street, in the block bounded BY
fourteenth and Fifteenth streets. Ali
car stops on Fifteenth street, between
New York avenue and just north of
Rennsylvania avenue. were cut out :.
The lone stop being fixed in front OF
the Washington Hotel The effect has
been to turn through street thou
sands of people who formerly used
other streets Business in the block
mentioned is said to have Increased
40 per cent in less than a year.
New Designations July I.
s.The Assessors office. after years OF
work, has completed 1900 maps. max
ing entirely new designations of lots
and squares in Washington and
Georgetown. Suburban properties,
changed some years ago. are not in
Guided. The designations of Is per
cent Of the properties in the north
west part of the city are changed
and when bills are rendered for taxa
ton for the next fiscal year will show
new numbers for the blocks and lots
&C. N. Davis, assistant assessor, has
had the work under his supervision
for a long time. The maps were
drawn under his direction. and the
changes have been checked with great
care. The new designations become
effective July ].
Mr.. Baist, whose aliases Of the Dis
triet are used in real estate work.
/ viii make new aliases. V is stated.
The expectation is that the new
designations will simplify real estate