“Property valuations fair and objective,” say Andrew Kawano and Calvin Say (“Property valuations fair and objective,” Island Voices, Star-Advertiser, Jan. 22). They say there is “no nexus, none whatsoever between any collective bargaining settlement and an increase in real property tax valuations” — yet Say, in an earlier article, when asked if there was such a connection, replied, “I believe so” (“Oahu residents reeling from steep increases,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 3).
Value is explained in detail on the city’s real-property website (www.realpropertyhonolulu.com). But the most important detail missing from the video are the dollar amounts (coefficient) assigned to beds, baths, living area, used to calculate value (variable) in comparison to the five sold properties chosen by the city appraiser to determine market value. This leaves the property owner helpless in understanding the values used to be able to appeal an assessment.
Our current assessment for a Waikiki condo shot up from $782,000 to $1,939 million, a 148% increase. The assessment shows a market estimate average value to be $845,000 plus an “adjustment” of $1 million-plus. If the average market value is $844,600 how can the assessed value be $1.9 million? Condo sales prices in Waikiki increased 10.9% from September 2020 through September 2022. If the market data shows a 10.9% increase, how does the city justify 148%?
There are other forces influencing the outrageous increase in property values that clearly do not reflect true market value based on sales — or the appraisal system used for decades is flawed or has been tampered with.
Danny Stumpf
Nuuanu
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