Assessment appeals board sustains assessor’s value after applicant fails to meet burden on Thousand Oaks sale

The Ventura County Assessment Appeals Board No. 1 heard Item 25 (application 24-10402) on Feb. 9, 2026. Francis Corsolo, agent for the applicant, challenged the enrolled purchase price of a Thousand Oaks home at 1960 Cans Drive (APN 570-0-423-045), arguing the market value at transfer (Aug. 5, 2022) was lower than the recorded sale price of $1,505,000 and presenting a comparable-sales analysis that produced an adjusted estimate of $1,365,000.

Corsolo presented three exhibits including a bank-originated appraisal (exhibit 2) and his own sales-comparison report (exhibit 3). He said several comparable sales and listings in the subdivision supported a lower market value, and emphasized listings and MLS data showing compressed prices and short days on market around the transfer date.

Andrew Pineda, speaking for the Ventura County Assessor’s Office, questioned the methodology: several comparables cited by the applicant recorded after the subject property’s recording date, limiting their suitability under accepted valuation practice; Pineda also probed whether view and corner/mid-block differences required adjustments and noted the applicant provided no independent market-level data showing a broad, contemporaneous market decline.

After a board recess to deliberate burden of production, Chair Sisk announced the board’s unanimous ruling that the applicant had not met the burden of production. The board cited two main reasons: there was no market support in the record for the applicant’s asserted declining market at the valuation date, and the comparable sales introduced by the applicant recorded after the subject’s effective date and therefore reflected a different market.

Because the appeal includes a separate question about market value as of Jan. 1, 2024, the board bifurcated the case and continued that second phase to April 20, 2026 without a data proviso.

What this means: The assessor’s value as presented at the hearing was sustained for the Aug. 5, 2022 valuation date because the applicant did not meet the required burden of production. The appellant may pursue the bifurcated issue (value as of Jan. 1, 2024) at the next scheduled hearing on April 20, 2026.