SDAT Launches Review to Improve Vacant Property Assessments in Baltimore City

The Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) has announced a new initiative to improve the accuracy and consistency of vacant property assessments in Baltimore City, aimed at addressing long-standing challenges in valuing the City’s significant inventory of unimproved parcels.

The effort comes in response to local concerns about inconsistent valuations and their impact on equity and redevelopment.

SDAT Director Bob Yeager, appointed by Governor Moore in July, emphasized the need to modernize assessments in response to community feedback.

“This initiative is about ensuring assessments reflect the true diversity of Baltimore’s neighborhoods and support equitable and transparent valuations citywide,” said Yeager.

Neighborhood-Based Review and Multi-Year Strategy

Vacant land valuation in Baltimore is particularly complex due to the City’s block-by-block property dynamics and historical inconsistencies in market data. The initiative prioritizes:

  • Identifying all unimproved parcels within the current reassessment area
  • Analyzing recent land sales to realign assessments with actual market activity
  • Conducting data integrity reviews to ensure the accuracy of property records

Baltimore’s property transfer data often requires extensive manual review, and SDAT plans to extend this effort through future reassessment cycles as part of a long-term strategy to improve citywide valuation practices.

“This is just the beginning of a broader push to improve consistency in Baltimore’s property valuations,” Yeager said. “We’re committed to transparency and continued collaboration with our local partners.”

SDAT is responsible for assessing property in Maryland. Assessments conducted by the State, rather than the local governments, help assure taxpayers that the assessing body provides objective, unbiased analysis.

Maryland divides more than two million property accounts into three groups, each appraised by SDAT once every three years. There are 24 local State assessment offices, one in each county and one in Baltimore City.

Stay tuned to Conduit Street for more information.