About Real Property

The Assessors as mandated by the Massachusetts legislature via the Department of Revenue must determine the value of all real and personal property located within the City of New Bedford for taxation purposes. By law, all property must be assessed at its full and fair cash value as of the first of each year. The values must be submitted every three years to the Department of Revenue for certification.

In the years between certification, Assessors must also maintain the values. They must review sales, and the market every year, and thereby reassess values each year.

While most communities hire professional appraisal firms to perform this task, we in New Bedford have a full time in-house staff to conduct this ongoing effort.