Assessor explains 1.92 'trending' factor after resident questions rising assessments

Margaret Smith asked the board to explain why her assessed value increased and whether improvements had been recorded incorrectly. County staff explained that since Indiana moved to market‑value assessments, the assessor conducts annual ratio studies comparing sales to assessed values within township neighborhoods; those studies produce a neighborhood trending factor that adjusts assessments up or down. Staff showed that the relevant trending factor for her neighborhood for 2024 was about 1.92 and that this multiplicative factor increases assessed values across the neighborhood when market sales exceed assessed values.