The 7 percent increase pushes the county assessment rolls to $1.1 trillion and marks the second year assessments have topped that pricey milestone, Assessor Rick Auerbach said.
The rise also marks more than a decade of consecutive increases in assessed values of county residential and commercial properties, although the rate of increase is down from 9.3 percent the prior year.
While the slumping housing market has taken its toll on home values, Auerbach said voter-approved Proposition 13 - which imposes a 2 percent annual cap on the amount of increase in the assessed values of homes and other properties - has had a stabilizing effect on assessed values.
Officials said many homes bought in the past are not assessed anywhere near their market value, which has plunged recently. That means total assessments keep rising, even though some homes are dropping in value.
"In a rising market, because of the 2 percent increase cap included in Prop. 13, assessed values do not keep pace with market values," Auerbach said. "On the other hand, in a market such as we now have, the cap keeps us from experiencing a dramatic decrease in assessed value.
