City assessor says neighborhood market adjustments will be trimmed as 2026 revaluation proceeds

Phil Drew, the city assessor, told the Bangor City Council at its May 7 budget workshop that the office will reduce previously planned market adjustments for many neighborhoods as the city prepares for its 2026 reevaluation.

“The real takeaway is the market based adjustments that we made on the residential and small multifamily properties can be down adjusted,” Drew said, describing sales and days‑on‑market data the office used to revise its recommendations.

The assessor said median sale prices rose in mid‑2024 but by March 2025 had fallen back to July 2024 levels, and days on market increased from as low as five days to roughly 44 days. Drew said Zillow’s one‑year forecast showed flat to slightly up price expectations for the region, and that the reevaluation work to set values as of April 1, 2026 will use sales from roughly April 2025–April 2026 as its principal year of sales.

Drew gave the council several quantitative summaries: Bangor has about 6,827 single‑family and condo units affected by the adjustments; the overall average adjustment for small residential properties is about 8.1 percent; and the average assessed value across the city is now roughly $265,000. He said Zillow reported an average sale price for Bangor of about $274,000 in March 2025 and Realtor.com reported a median near $283,000.

“We’re still able to achieve the state's mid quartile mean statistic of overall 91%,” Drew said, noting that the city can claim a certified ratio around that mark and will not need to down‑value personal property to match residential values unless the certified ratio fell further.

Drew also said the net effect of the adjustments discussed in his January memo would reduce total assessed value by about $40,000,000 this year, but he noted new growth and market adjustments together leave the city's total assessed value close to 6 percent higher year over year. The assessor said personal property processing was still incomplete and he planned to provide an update to the council by the end of the following week; he described the personal property figures as “not specified” at the workshop.

Council members asked whether foreseeable variables might change the certified ratio, and Drew replied assessors generally avoid forecasting beyond the sales data they use. In response to a question from Dr. Mallard about whether inspectors are picking up unpermitted improvements on existing buildings, Drew said the reevaluation contractor had not yet provided a report on what it had or had not captured and the city would do its own independent work ahead of the April 1, 2026 assessment.

Drew described neighborhood adjustments that had been proposed in January — initially in the range of plus 12 to plus 14 percent for 21 neighborhoods (about 3,700 properties) — and said those adjustments have been lowered to roughly 6 to 7 percent to better reflect recent market stability.

The assessor closed by reiterating that revaluation work next year should bring assessed ratios closer to market value and by promising the council a follow‑up on personal property processing before June.