It marks the most significant economic shift in Fayette County since the fair market value of all property in the county nose-dived more than 20 percent beginning a few years ago due to the effects of the Great Recession and its economic aftermath. That downward trend has now been reversed, and the 2013 tax digest is registering a small but important $107 million increase in the fair market value of all property.
“The glut of foreclosure properties have been pretty much removed from the market. It looks like we reached the bottom of the market at the end of 2011. Values have stabilized and are starting to go up,” Fayette County Tax Commissioner George Wingo said of the local economy. “It will likely come up slowly, but it will go up.”
Viewed as a whole, the fair market value of all property in Fayette County, including real and personal properties, totaled $11.491 billion in 2012. This year that number had increased by $107 million to $11.598 billion.
The fair market value of all property in Fayette’s incorporated areas increased by $109 million, from $7.171 billion in 2012 to $7.280 in 2013.
All properties in Peachtree City were valued at approximately $4.536 billion in 2012, while the 2013 figures showed a value of $4.675 billion in 2013, representing an increase of $139 million.
The fair market value of all property in Fayetteville saw a slight decrease in 2013. Property values in 2012 totaled $1.765 billion compared to $1.749 billion in 2013, a decrease of approximately $16 million.
Overall property values also decreased slightly in Tyrone. The $812.7 million figure from 2012 decreased by approximately $15 million in 2013 to approximately $797.1 million.
Property values in Brooks increased this year by approximately $335,000, with 2013 figures totaling $57.85 million compared to $57.515 in 2012.
What was undoubtedly the biggest economic development news in Fayette County’s history came earlier this year with the announcement that Pinewood Atlanta Studios would be constructing a large studio complex in central Fayette County.
The new studio, representing the first in the United States by British-based Pinewood Group, is expected to bring with it a large number of other businesses to work with the film and television productions that will soon begin to dot the Fayette County landscape.
“It’s a win-win and one of the best things to happen in Fayette County,” said Wingo. “Pinewood will have a low impact on services, will create jobs and will produce tax revenue.”
