ABBOT (AP) – Valuations of waterfront real estate in Maine’s unorganized territories could rise by as much as 60 percent this year, spelling higher property taxes for owners of lakefront land, a state official says.

Increases in this year’s tax bills will be the first in a number of years to reflect the rising values of waterfront land in the unorganized territories that encompass more than 10 million forested acres.

“Waterfront values in the unorganized territories will be going up 15 percent to 60 percent depending upon which lake it is and what the market is doing in the area,” according to Bob Doiron, who heads the unorganized territories property tax division of Maine Revenue Services.

Nearly all properties in the unorganized territories were increased last year, Doiron said, but this is the first time in several years that waterfront property values have been increased in response to the market.

To determine the new valuations, the state reviewed recent sales of similar properties and then estimated what properties most likely would sell for in a competitive marketplace.

“We hope the new values are bringing us near the market value,” Doiron said. “Our main concern isn’t necessarily hitting 100 percent but getting the different classes of property in the unorganized territories’ in reasonable equity.”

Undervaluation of waterfront properties has left other property owners in the unorganized territories carrying a greater share of the load, he said.

Taxes in unorganized territories are lower than those in municipalities, which has prompted a handful of small towns to move toward deorganization in recent years.

As an example of the differences in tax rates, the handful of property owners on Whetstone Pond in the Piscataquis County town of Abbot will pay $14.60 per $1,000 valuation in this year. The remainder of the waterfront property owners, who live in the unorganized territory of Blanchard, will pay the state about $8 per $1,000.

The gap in those figures doesn’t trouble Doiron, who said his primary concern as supervisor of the unorganized property tax division is equity among taxpayers in the unorganized territories.

Doiron said further increases in valuations may be in the offing.

“The market is so hot, the values we put on this year may not be adequate in the next couple of years,” Doiron said.

AP-ES-07-15-04 1143EDT