Mountain View sees highest property value growth in Santa Clara County

A Santa Clara County report of assessed property values puts Mountain View at the top with the highest property value growth in the region, outpacing other cities that saw more modest increases this past year.

The overall assessed value for residential and commercial properties in the county rose to $696.8 billion for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, representing a 5.4% increase from the previous year, according to a report from the Assessor’s Office on July 8.

Mountain View’s net worth of residential and commercial properties increased by $47.7 billion, a 7.69% increase from the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The next highest was the city of Santa Clara at 7.32%.

But while property values have increased, the report also described fewer residential transactions in the region and a troubled commercial real estate market.

“Residential properties experienced a decline in value in 2023, rebounded in 2024, and are now the highest in the country,” the report said. Even so, the number of residential property transactions has continued to decline overall, it added.

Similarly, real estate transactions in Mountain View have slowed down in the past year, contributing to less property tax revenue for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, according to a report presented to the City Council in June.

The assessor’s office also described a volatile commercial real estate market, where new construction of commercial properties has come to a standstill.

“While some projects already under construction moved forward, plans for commercial new construction have stalled, changed or been considered for conversion to housing,” the report said.

In Mountain View, Google has terminated its plans for a mega office-development in the North Bayshore, mirroring some of these trends.

The report also noted that the office vacancy rate in Silicon Valley has risen to over 20%, an increasing number of office buildings are selling for less than the assessed value, and foreclosures are becoming more frequent.

As a result, commercial property owners are submitting more appeals contesting their property assessments.

“Ninety-eight percent of the $115.2 billion of assessed value currently under appeal involves commercial property,” said County Assessor Larry Stone. “We expect to receive a greater number of commercial property assessment appeals filed this year, which may result in assessment roll corrections reducing the value of the assessment roll.”

The assessment roll is a snapshot of property values as of Jan. 1, 2024.

The report also described the impact of Proposition 13 on property values, stating that the majority of homeowners continue to have low assessments compared to the market value of their properties. It added that this “comes at a cost to schools and local governments dependent on the revenue necessary to fund quality education and public services.”

For the short-term outlook, the report projected that declining property sales and values, as well as stalled construction plans would hinder tax assessment growth. But longer term, the outlook was more encouraging. It cited some of the region’s strongest assets, like its trillion-dollar companies (Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia) as well as its dominance in the research and development tech industry as a reason for optimism.

“The global attraction of the region will not change anytime soon,” it said.