Two houses in Southampton Village could sell within a few hundred thousand dollars of each other and still carry very different village tax bills. Much of the reason goes back to 1992. That was the last year the Village reassessed every property at once. Since then, individual parcels have been reassessed after construction or renovation, and the rest have kept their old values. 27east reported that history in August when Trustee Rob Coburn proposed the first village-wide reassessment in more than three decades. So the village tax figure on a listing tells you mostly about a house's permit record and its assessment from more than 30 years ago. It tells you much less about what the house is worth today.
What a Building Permit Does to the Number
A buyer comparing two village homes is often comparing two different histories. One house may have been renovated or rebuilt recently, and that work triggered an updated assessment. The house down the street may have gone decades without a permit-driven change, so its assessment still rests on the 1992 baseline.
Mayor Bill Manger described the other side of this in the same 27east article. He pointed to longtime owners "that have not done any work to their homes, meaning there's never been, because of a building permit, a reassessment on that property." For a buyer, the point is simple. A low village tax line on a listing may describe a house that has not changed in a long time, and it may say little about how that house compares in value to its neighbors.
How permit costs get added to assessed values has its own critics. In a letter to the editor in 27east, one village resident argued that the assessor decides which permit costs raise a property's assessed value and that the results vary from one property to the next. That is one resident's argument in an opinion piece, not a finding. It does show that some people in the village believe the permit trigger works unevenly.
The State's Own Measure of the Drift
New York State measures how far a municipality's assessments have moved from market value with a figure called the equalization rate. The state Department of Taxation and Finance defines it as total assessed value divided by total market value. It adds that "the lower the equalization rate, the longer it has probably been since the last reassessment."
Southampton Village posts its rate history in its 2026 tax rate table. The recent years show the trend.
| Tax year | Village equalization rate |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 1.00 |
| 2018 | .89 |
| 2020 | .82 |
| 2022 | .83 |
| 2023 | .66 |
| 2024 | .58 |
| 2025 | .52 |
| 2026 | .52 |
Under the state's definition, a rate of .52 means property across the village is assessed, on the whole, at about 52% of market value. The biggest drop came after 2022, from .83 to .52 in three tax years.
The rate describes the whole village, and individual homes can sit far from it. Coburn's argument rests on the gap between what different properties have done since 1992. He told 27east that some parts of the village have gone up "three or four times, four or five times," and others "40 to 50 times." He added that the village has "five or six hundred houses right now whose market value is more than $20 million." When the overall rate sits near half of market value, individual homes can sit well above or well below that level.
How Small Differences Compound Over 34 Years
In the Village's Fall 2026 newsletter, Coburn walked through a plain example. Two homes are each worth $1,000,000 and pay the same tax. One appreciates 5% a year and the other 10%. Without a reassessment, both keep paying the same tax.
- After one year, their values differ by 4.8%.
- After five years, by 26.2%.
- After ten years, by 59.2%.
- After 34 years, the length of time since 1992, the faster-growing home is worth $25,547,670 and the slower one $5,253,348. That is a gap of 386.3%.
At a Village Board discussion on September 10, 27east reported, Coburn said appreciation depends mainly on location, property size and neighboring lot dimensions, more than on the condition of a particular house. So the gaps follow land and position. They are hard to see when you compare finishes on a showing, and they show up across whole parts of the village.
"You quickly get situations where two properties with the same assessed value are actually 50 percent or more apart in true value."
Coburn said that at the same meeting, according to 27east. Deputy Mayor Roy Stevenson acknowledged there that the village is "clearly in a position where an imbalance has been created."
Who Would Pay More, and Who Would Pay Less
A reassessment would not change the total amount the Village collects. Coburn told the Board that the budget and the levy are set on their own, and that assessments only decide "how the pie is divided." He expects nearly every assessed value to rise from its 1992 level. He also said that "does not mean that taxes automatically increase," because a bill would rise only where a property has appreciated faster than the village average.
Coburn and Village Assessor Bill McCoy described the typical result of a reassessment elsewhere: about a third of bills go up, a third go down and a third stay the same. Coburn expects Southampton Village to look different. His very preliminary model, published in the Village newsletter, suggests:
- as few as one bill in twenty could rise by 5% or more
- nearly half could fall by 5% or more, some by as much as 20%
- more than 40% could stay essentially flat
He has called this a "good faith early analysis." He also said the full breakdown would not be known until a reassessment is actually done. If the model holds, a small group of fast-appreciating properties would pay more, and many of the homes that buyers compare more often would see their village bills hold steady or go down.
Mayor Manger takes the opposing view. He told 27east that he "would not advise" a reassessment because longtime owners on fixed incomes could face a much larger bill. Former Mayor Mark Epley suggested a third route, which was to adopt the Town of Southampton's assessed values. Coburn said he would not rule that out and noted that collapsing two assessing authorities into one is generally considered better practice. The Town's own assessments are not at full value either. Its spring/summer 2026 newsletter reports a Town equalization rate and residential assessment ratio of 59.7%, according to the state's Office of Real Property Tax Services.
Where the Proposal Stands This Fall
Coburn first raised a village-wide reassessment at a Village Board meeting in December 2025. 27east covered his formal proposal on August 12, and the Board discussed it on September 10. The minutes of that meeting list "Tax reassessment background." The Board's October 20 agenda had no reassessment item, and no vote, budget appropriation or hired firm has been reported. If the Village goes ahead, Coburn estimates the work would take 9 to 18 months and could cost $500,000 or more. That is his estimate, not an approved budget.
For someone buying this winter, the village tax figure you underwrite today is based on the current roll. That roll could stay in place, be replaced by a reassessment, or be swapped for the Town's values, depending on what the Board decides. Each outcome would divide the same levy in a different way.
This is general information about how assessment works in Southampton Village, not tax or legal advice. Confirm how it applies to a specific property with your attorney, accountant or the Village assessor's office.
FAQ
Does buying a house in Southampton Village reset its assessment? The reporting describes reassessments of individual parcels after construction or renovation work. It does not describe reassessment at the time of sale. Your attorney can confirm how a particular parcel's assessment has been set.
Would a reassessment raise the Village's total tax collection? According to Coburn, no. He told the Board the levy is set through the budget process, and reassessment only changes how that levy is divided among properties.
What can an owner do if they think their assessment is unfair now? Coburn noted that owners can file a grievance with the Village. Members of the grievance committee have said that working without a recent reassessment makes their job harder.
If you are comparing village homes and want to understand what sits behind each one's tax line, including its permit history, I am glad to go through it with you, along with the questions to bring to your attorney before you sign. Jane Babcook