Anchorage Assessor Jack Grama presented the Anchorage Municipality 2025 property appraisal annual evaluation report to the Anchorage Assembly at a Jan. 10 work session, reviewing the municipality's valuation totals, exemptions, recent valuation trends and the timeline for valuation notices and appeals.

The report put Anchorage's total gross assessed value at about $57.3 billion and the taxable base, after exemptions, at roughly $42.3 billion. Grama said the municipality administers exemptions year-round and values property as required by state law, noting that Jan. 1 is the statutory valuation date that triggers the annual schedule and the appeals window.

Why it matters: Changes in assessed values affect the taxable base used to set mill rates and can shift tax burdens among property classes. The Assembly's questions at the session focused on which property classes are driving recent changes, how exemptions affect tax liability, condo valuation adjustments and the handling of personal property such as inventory at new distribution facilities.

Key findings and figures

- Total assessed value and taxable base: Grama reported a total assessed value of about $57.3 billion and a taxable base near $42.3 billion after roughly $14.9 billion in exemptions. He described residential property as the largest share of the tax base.

- Tax base composition: Residential property accounted for about 65.8 percent of the tax base, commercial about 26.3 percent and personal property about 8 percent, according to the presentation.

- Major exemptions: The presentation listed roughly $3.2 billion in state-mandated exemptions for the senior/disabled veteran category (the $150,000 exemption) and about $3.7 billion in locally adopted residential exemptions (a 40% exemption up to $75,000). Grama reminded the Assembly that March 15 is the deadline to apply for exemptions this year.

- Condo valuations and exemptions: Grama said condo values rose markedly in 2024 (he cited an average 15 percent increase for condos) and that the assessor's office has been revising condo valuation methods. He showed that smaller condo units (studios, one- and two-bedrooms) have a lower rate of exemptions: efficiencies had roughly a 10 percent exemption rate while larger units and single-family homes show a much higher share receiving exemptions. Grama said the condo increases partly reflect a methodological catch-up and market activity.

- New construction and class volatility: The assessor reported total taxable new construction of about $156 million for the year, down roughly 16 percent from the prior year. He said commercial new construction was more volatile, falling about 40 percent (from roughly $66 million to about $40 million in the figures he cited). Residential new construction showed more modest movement.

- Commercial subtypes: Grama said retail values increased about 11 percent after the assessor purchased additional market data, and hotels rose roughly 14 percent. He described industrial as comparatively stable, with rents and values showing catch-up increases in some areas.

- Personal property: Grama presented personal property as a large, heterogeneous category (inventory, machinery, equipment and mobile homes). He noted inventory accounted for a substantial portion of personal property value (on the order of $1.3 billion in the inventory/supplies bucket). The Assembly raised questions about how inventory at new distribution facilities (for example, an Amazon distribution center) is treated; Grama said the office would take that question offline to investigate specifics of ownership and taxation.

- Data, sales disclosure and accuracy: Grama and Assembly members discussed Anchorage's status as a nondisclosure state for sale prices. Grama said the assessor uses three years of sales plus other market data and noted the office purchased commercial market data to improve retail valuations. Assistant Municipal Attorney Harry Bowman said the assessor is required by state law to assess the "full and true value" of property based on market value.

- Computer-assisted mass appraisal (CAMA): Grama said the municipality's CAMA system went live for tax year 2022 after a roughly $7.1 million project and that the office is now stabilizing the system.

Appeals and timeline

Grama said valuation notices were scheduled to be mailed Jan. 13. The informal review period begins upon mailing and property owners who want to preserve an appeal must file formally by Feb. 12. Evidence in support of appeals is due Feb. 27, and the assessor's office generally works appeals from mid-February through mid-May, with the Board of Equalization hearings occurring in April and May.

Grama reviewed recent appeal statistics: 311 appeals in the prior year, with about 86 percent settled during the informal review period (many with reduced assessed values) and about 97 percent of appellant deposits returned; the small share of deposits withheld reflected appellants who failed to appear at hearings.

Assembly questions and discussion

Assembly members pressed on the relationship between market-driven valuations and municipal revenue needs, whether valuation increases disproportionately affect properties that have improved, and how exemptions concentrate among property types. Bowman summarized the statutory constraint: the assessor must value property to market standards, while tax levies depend on the Assembly's budget decisions.

Members also discussed housing dynamics that affect the condo market (seniors "rightsizing," military first-time buyers who later rent units) and long-standing questions about whether the valuation approach or tax structure disincentivizes property improvement.

What the assessor will follow up on

Grama and staff agreed to provide additional detail on condo exemption distributions and to research questions about inventory ownership and taxation at new distribution facilities; those items were described as follow-ups rather than formal Assembly directives.

Bottom line

The work session presented a largely technical review of the assessor's annual evaluation: overall assessed value and taxable base totals, major exemptions that reduce the tax base, notable valuation increases for condos, modest new-construction totals and a calendar for notices and appeals. The Assembly's discussion focused on the distributional effects of valuations and exemptions and on staff follow-ups about personal property and condo exemption patterns.

Ending

Valuation notices were scheduled for mailing Jan. 13, with a Feb. 12 appeal deadline and Feb. 27 evidence deadline. The assessor's office encouraged early informal review during the 30-day period before formal appeals are filed to resolve many disputes without a hearing.