How does the Assessor’s Office determine what the selling prices were for real property?
From the actual recorded deeds and Real Property Transfer Declarations filed with the County Clerk & Recorder’s office. Colorado is a “public disclosure” state for real property records. When a deed is recorded transferring title to real property for consideration (money, etc.), the sales price of the real property must be disclosed to the County Clerk & Recorder and the County Clerk shall impose a documentary fee based upon that sales price (§39-13-102, C.R.S.). It is a crime to purposely misstate the sales price to the County Clerk & Recorder, punishable by a fine and/or jail time upon conviction (§ 39-13-106, C.R.S.). From the documentary fee, the Assessor can readily compute the property’s sales price, as well as by reviewing the Real Property Transfer Declaration. Real property sales prices are a public record and must be publicly available on the Assessor’s records; the Real Property Transfer Declaration, however, is NOT a public document.
