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About a month ago, I wrote a story about appraisers having to use sales of foreclosed homes for property valuations in certain parts of town.

That prompted some e-mails and phone calls from Tucsonans who wanted to know when, or if, they could expect to see their property tax bills reflect the same trend.

The answer: Maybe for 2010, but that depends on what you call a "foreclosure."

Properties are sometimes referred to as "foreclosures" as soon as lenders take action against them, or when they are brought to auction. Other people call lender-owned properties "foreclosures."

Pima County Assessor Bill Staples said the state Department of Revenue recently advised local assessors to incorporate sales of lender-owned properties into assessments for 2010, but not to include trustees' sales — the auctions held on courthouse steps.

Staples declined to answer definitively about whether his office has used repossessed properties in past years for assessments.

"In the past, the amount of or the volume of (lender-owned-property) sales has not been as high as it is presently; therefore, it was less of an issue," Staples said.

He also wouldn't say for certain whether the inclusion of sales of lender-owned properties would ultimately result in lower assessments — and lower taxes — for some residents.

"We report on what has happened," he said. "We don't speculate on what is going to happen."

Cheryl Murray-Leyba, assistant director of the property tax division of the state Department of Revenue, said tax assessments should take into account all transactions in which properties are "exposed to the open market for a period of time" and there is no "undue pressure" to sell. Bank-owned properties meet those definitions, she said.

"In times like this, foreclosure sales do become a big part of the market," she said, then clarified herself, adding that trustees' sales are what the department identifies as "foreclosures."

"The foreclosure sale is when the bank takes the property back," she said.

The Pima County Assessor's Office uses statistical analysis to determine property tax assessments for single-family residences each year, Staples said.

But there is a lag in the assessment time frame. The office is currently working on 2010 assessments, which will reflect sales from 2007 and part of 2008, he said. Pima County property owners already have

received 2009 valuation notices — those reflected sales activity from 2006 and part of 2007.

Marc Goldstone, chairman of Arizona Tax Revolt, which seeks to limit property taxes, said it's good that homeowners in areas with a high number of lender-owned-property sales may see some relief in their bills. But trustees' sales shouldn't be excluded, he said.

"A lot of foreclosures mean you can't sell unless you dramatically lower the price to compete with foreclosures," Goldstone said.