Welcome
Welcome to the Vision Appraisal Revaluation Information Site for Cranston, Rhode Island. The goal of this site is to explain the purpose for the current revaluation as well as to help the taxpayers understand what has been happening in the Cranston real estate market over the last few years. Keep in mind that your new assessment reflects a change in the market over a three year period since the last revaluation completed in 2002.
Update from the Assessor
As you may be aware from newspaper, television, and on-line reports, the Rhode Island real estate market has been extremely active over the last four or five years. In Cranston, the rate of increase for single family homes from 2002 through 2005 was 70%*. As you will see if you look at the links to the right, specifically Taxpayer Assistance, Overview of Market Conditions, these increases have affected different property types at varying rates.
* Statistics from The Warren Group
Frequently Asked Questions
Click Here for a list of frequently asked questions
Revaluation Summary
A Revaluation is the process of performing all of the necessary Market Analysis and Valuation steps to determine accurate and equitable values for all properties within a municipality. The equalization of the values within a City or Town creates a fair distribution of the tax burden. The purpose of a Revaluation is not to raise taxes. The purpose is to create an equitable distribution of the tax load. Rhode Island Law requires every City and Town to perform a Revaluation or Valuation Update every three years. Cranston has been required to conduct this program for 2005. This year Cranston conducted a full revaluation. An update includes all of the market analysis and valuation steps to determine accurate values but does not necessarily include an interior inspection of each property.
See the flowchart below for all of the actual steps in a Revaluation.
Click on the stages in the flowchart for a description. Each Step of this flowchart is not necessarily part of every Revaluation.
Other Information
There is an excellent article reprinted here from The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy on issues pertaining to the property tax. (Click Here to read the article) Also, please see the video presentations on Revaluation and the charts on the assessment to sales ratios for different property types within the Town (Overview of Market Conditions).