03/25/2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2026
Town of Bergen Assessor announces mailing of preliminary assessed values as part of the Assessment Update Project, Full Value Assessments will be mailed to property owners in the Town of Bergen starting Mid-April.
Town of Bergen Assessor, Rhonda M Saulsbury, announces beginning April 10th, 2026, Change of Assessment Notices will be mailed to property owners within the Town.
Instructions will be included with each notice indicating the procedure for requesting an informal review, how to obtain forms and where to get information.
Ms. Saulsbury reminds property owners to review the full market value estimate found on the Change of Assessment Notification. If you do not agree with this estimate AND can offer proof for a change, you can follow the process of filing a challenge. Informal reviews will be held during the remainder of the month of April. Appointments are required with specific details included with the notices.
The Formal Grievance Form (RP-524) can also be submitted anytime up to and during Grievance Day June 3rd ,2026 (Prior to the start, or in person).
Information regarding property assessments, inventory data and sale information will be available beginning April 10th online at: https://townofbergen.prosgar.com/
“The Town of Bergen strives to maintain a 100% equalization rate (sale price to assessment ratio) which means that we aim to keep our assessments at 100% full market value across all property types. To accomplish this we do regular re-valuations and make adjustments accordingly during the assessment update project. Values can adjust due to both physical changes and/or market changes, said Rhonda M Saulsbury, Town of Bergen Assessor.
As part of this process, we run each property through our appraisal software system, comparing the building style, square footage, year built, bedrooms, baths, lot size, et cetera, against the recent sale data. We then do field review to determine the fair full market value based on the aforementioned data.
Although we review each neighborhood within the Town during each cycle, we only update values in those that have experienced an increase or decrease in market values.
As sale values have continued to climb between 8%-11% +/- on average above current assessments, we must adjust assessed values in accordance with NYS Real Property Tax Law guidelines, in regular cycles.
Western NY Regional Market Trends (2025) (including southern tier)
Market values remained stable or increased due to a continued shortage of housing inventory, which stayed near two months or less of supply for much of the year.
• Buffalo Metro: The median sold price in Erie County reached $269,315 by July 2025, a 5.2% increase from the previous year. In the city of Buffalo specifically, prices rose even faster, with Redfin reporting a 15.5% year-over-year increase to a median of $205,000 as of early 2026.
• Rochester Metro: Rochester was projected to be the #2 top housing market for 2026, building on a strong 2025 where home values were noted to have risen 75% since 2019.
• Surrounding Counties: Value growth in mid-2025 was high in several WNY counties:
• Niagara County: +12.5% ($225,000 median).
• Wyoming County: +11.4% ($185,000 median).
• Genesee County: +10.8% ($200,000 median).
• Cattaraugus County: +10.5% ($162,400 median).
Grievance Day 2026 will be held on June 3rd from 6:00-10:00 PM. Grievance Day is held in the Assessor’s Office/Library building, located at 13 South Lake Ave. Bergen.
The Grievance form, Informal Review form, sale & inventory data, and the Townwide new assessments to assist you in comparing property values, can be found as of April 10th in the Town Clerk’s Office, or online: https://townofbergen.prosgar.com