Albemarle board keeps property taxable as condos, boosts multi-unit ownership discount to 25%

The Albemarle County Board of Equalization on May 12 voted to keep the appraiser's method of valuing a 101‑unit tranche of The Villas at Southern Ridge as individual condominiums but raised the multi‑unit ownership discount applied to the improvements from 15% to 25%. The change will lower the overall assessment for that set of parcels; board members said they preferred adjusting the existing condo assessment rather than reclassifying the property as multifamily.

The appeal was filed by the owner of the 101 units (appellant), who pointed to an $11 million November 2024 portfolio sale and a CBRE appraisal that valued the portfolio at about $9 million. Appellant representatives argued the assessor's income approach overstated market rents and expenses and that the recent sale better reflected market value. The assessor's staff said the units historically had been assessed as individual condos since conversion in 2007 and argued the market still supported that approach because only a portion of the 240‑unit development is owned by the investor and because private owners still hold the remaining units.

Board discussion focused on whether the portfolio should be treated as an interim multifamily holding or remain valued as individual condominium units. Several members said the market evidence supported treating the property as condos for tax purposes but that the owners of many contiguous units face a loss of effective control and a bulk‑sale discount that should be reflected in the assessment. A member summarized the compromise: keep the condo valuation approach but increase the bulk ownership discount to recognize the practical limits of a large single owner inside an HOA.

Motion and vote: A board member moved to keep the assessment methodology as condominiums and increase the discount for multi‑unit ownership from 15% to 25%; another member seconded. The board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The assessor's office said it would compute and deliver the precise new assessed values for the hundred‑and‑one parcels to the appellant.

Why it matters: The change reduces the assessed value for the investor's 101 units without changing the county's broader method of valuing fractured‑condominium holdings. Board members framed the decision as a compromise that provides relief to the plaintiff while preserving the assessor's sales‑comparison and unit‑by‑unit approach for the remainder of the development.