Byram has the the sharpest drop-off on assessments

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Greenwich Assessor Ted Gwartney

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A casualty of the economic downturn and the previously over-inflated real estate market, Byram Property Values have declined more than 13 percent following a just-completed townwide property revaluation.

At the opposite end of the spectrum were waterfront properties in Riverside.

Residential parcels and condominiums represent about 81 percent of taxable property in town, with commercial real estate, motor vehicles and personal property such as office equipment making up the balance.

Commercial property taxes are based on a building's value and a predetermined "capitalization" rate based on income from the property and its capital cost.

Byram property owners should start receiving notices with their new assessments later this week, with informal hearings to follow in December and January for those who have questions or concerns about their valuation.

Assessor Ted Gwartney will hold an informational meeting for the public at 7 p.m. Nov. 29 in the Cole Auditorium at Greenwich Library.

Formal hearings by the Board of Assessment Appeals will be held in the spring of 2011 for aggrieved property owners, who can then go to state Superior Court in Stamford if they are still unhappy.

The new assessments will be applied to taxes owed in August 2011.