In Ocean County, the tax board will consider 11 percent more appeals than last year, or 8,693. But that is far fewer than the 14,000 that taxpayers filed in 2009, Tax Administrator L. Ozzie Vituscka said. “It’s a volatile market. Appreciation rates are nonexistent. It’s one of the worst market times I’ve seen,” Vituscka said.

It will take a few years to get straightened out,” he said. “It’s tied into the economy, the interest rates. All the economists are saying the same thing.”

Property owners in Ocean City were able to negotiate $35 million in cuts on their property assessments last year. But the added value of new construction last year made up the difference. More in POAC.