SummaryWhat the sales say about this assessment
Your assessment is about 12% higher than the 6 most similar nearby sales indicate after adjustments. That's more than the method's usual margin.
The 6 closest arm's-length sales of similar homes, adjusted to January 1, 2026, range from $448,400 to $533,900. The assessment is +13% from the median adjusted sale and above 6 of the 6. Wisconsin boards decide value from sales like these (Wis. Stat. 70.32). The figure you ask for is yours to decide. One you can explain from these sales holds up best.
Confidence: high (6 sales, median gross adjustment 7%). This report shows public data and arithmetic. It is not an appraisal and not legal advice.
Section 1The home as the assessor has it
| 2025 | 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | $144,500 | $122,800 | −15.0% |
| Improvements | $356,600 | $413,400 | +15.9% |
| Total | $501,100 | $536,200 | +7.0% |
Source: City of Madison Tax Parcels open data (city data). A wrong field is fixed at Open Book without an appeal.
Section 2This home's own sale
The sale records show no open-market sale of this home from July 2023 on, so there's no sale of its own to start from. When there is one, it comes first: a recent open-market purchase is the best evidence of value under Wisconsin law (70.32).
Section 3Comparable sales
Arm's-length sales from January 2024 through March 2026 of story-and-a-half or two-story homes within two miles, within 35% of the living area and 30 years of age, ranked by how closely they match. Adjustments are applied to the sales, never to the subject, time first (WPAM). A sale that's better than the subject is adjusted down; one that's worse is adjusted up.
| Subject | Sale 1 | Sale 2 | Sale 3 | Sale 4 | Sale 5 | Sale 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Address | Withheld | 2330 Mica Rd | |||||
| Distance | – | 0.23 mi | |||||
| Sold | – | Aug 2025 | |||||
| Sale price | $536,200 assessed | $540,000 | |||||
| Style | Modern Multi Story | Modern Multi Story | |||||
| Year built | 2001 | 2002 | |||||
| Living area | 1,635 sq ft | 1,618 sq ft | |||||
| Finished basement | 365 sq ft | 402 sq ft | |||||
| Bathrooms | 3.5 | 2.5 | |||||
| Lot | 7,989 sq ft | 7,440 sq ft | |||||
| Adjustments to each sale | |||||||
| Time to Jan 1, 2026 | −19,400 | ||||||
| Living area | +2,800 | ||||||
| Finished basement | −1,100 | ||||||
| Bathrooms | +12,000 | ||||||
| Year built | −1,700 | ||||||
| Lot size | +1,300 | ||||||
| Gross adjustment | 7% | ||||||
| Adjusted price | $533,900 | ||||||
Sales 2 through 6, with every adjustment, are in the full report. This sample shows them blurred.
Sale records: City of Madison Assessor, Sales by Area, pulled October 11, 2026 (area 101). Characteristics are the city's current records for each home.
Section 4Where the adjustment rates come from
The rates are fitted to the 150 closest arm's-length sales of similar homes (out to 1.4 miles), comparing homes within the same assessment areas so location doesn't distort them. Where a fitted rate falls outside a reasonable band, the band's edge is used and marked.
| Feature | Rate used | Fitted | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Living area | From sales Median price of nearby sales is $285/sq ft; added space is worth less per foot than the average. | ||
| Finished basement | Bounded Finished basement space, below-grade. | ||
| Bathrooms | From sales A half bath counts as half. | ||
| Year built | From sales Per year of difference in year built. | ||
| Lot size | From sales Lot area up to 30,000 sq ft. |
The rates fitted for your home are in the full report. This sample shows them blurred.
Time. Each sale is moved to January 1, 2026 with the citywide median sale price per square foot of single-family homes, by quarter (three-quarter average).
Section 5Sales nearby we didn't use
None within half a mile in the sale window.
Wisconsin assessors exclude sales that aren't open-market: family transfers, foreclosures, relocation sales, partial interests (WPAM). Showing what was left out, and why, answers the "you picked the cheap ones" objection before it's raised.
Section 6Assessment level
Madison says it values all property at 100% of market value as of January 1 (city). The 2025 tax bills used an average assessment ratio of 97.43% (source). This assessment sits +12% from what the sales indicate. When a home's ratio of assessment to market value greatly exceeds the district's level, the state's manual treats that as proof the assessment should come down (WPAM); the Department of Revenue's guide puts it the same way (DOR).
Section 7What to say
At Open Book (informal, with the assessor's staff): bring this report, point to Sections 3 and 4, and ask whether they'd review the value. Ask which sales they relied on.
At the Board of Review, under oath. A starting script; put it in your own words:
My name is [your name]. I own the home at [address], parcel 060803••••••. I'm asking the board to set the 2026 assessment at $[your figure], down from $536,200.
The full script, written around your own sales, are in the full report. This sample shows them blurred.
Section 8Filing in Madison
- 2026 Open Book: May 4–8. Objections to the Board of Assessors were due Fri., May 15, 4:30 pm (source). Madison adds a Board of Assessors step before the Board of Review.
- Board of Review: First meeting Mon., May 18, 4:30 pm; then as needed into the fall, after the Board of Assessors (source).
- Give notice of your intent to object at least 48 hours before the board's first meeting, on the objection form (PA-115A) (form), and state your own opinion of value: land and improvements, total (70.47).
- 2027 dates are usually posted in spring, after notices go out.
Full steps for every Dane County town: how to appeal your assessment.
Method and sourcesHow this report was made
- Parcels and characteristics: City of Madison Tax Parcels (open data, updated daily), pulled October 11, 2026. https://maps.cityofmadison.com/arcgis/rest/services/Public/OPEN_DATA2/FeatureServer/0
- City of Madison Assessor, Sales by Area, pulled October 11, 2026. https://www.cityofmadison.com/assessor/property/salesByAreaResults.cfm?Area=
- Screen: single-family, one unit, sold January 2024–March 2026, price at least $60,000 and within a plausible range of the home's own assessment.
- Engine check: on 466 homes that sold in 2025, with each home's own sale hidden, the method came within a median 6.3% of the actual price (within 10% on 68%).
- Law: Wis. Stat. 70.32 and 70.47; Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual; DOR Guide for Property Owners.