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in analyzing the sales ratio study, the assessor should: 1) Investigate whelher lower priced properties and higher priced properties are treated equally; 2) Whether the assessment bias is against newer homes or whether the assessment presently on the tax roll discriminates by location or whether present assessmenl indicates significanl differences in the assessmenl quality in respect to property type. One of lhe essential elements in any sales ratio study is breaking down the data used into specific zones or neighborhoods. All the properties in a specific neighborhood or zone should be similar types of property. In other words, one story ramblers should be compared to one stow ramblers of similar age, size and style as well as two -h)ry's should be compared to other two story's. Aisc the neighborhoods should be very homogenous or have similar types and values of properlies. If these zones or neighborhoods include vastly different types of improvements or properties, then the ratio study is distorted and will not leave a meaningful conclusion of the overall assessment to that zone or neighborhood. In the City of Ramsey, it was noted that all the properties which had City sewer and water were contained in the same neighborhood or zone. In other words, cluster homes in Flintwood Hills of approximately $55,000.00 to $60,000.00 property value were in the same zone or neighborhood as properties which were on the Rum River of estimated markel values anywhere between $100,000.00 to $300,000.00. That fact meant that an "across the board" adjustment in value would be equally applicable to the cluster homes and the river properties. As those two markets are so dissimilar, it would make it impossible for an assessor to make a correction in that zone or neighborhood. The ramifications of that fact were that cluster homes in Flintwood Hills were being assessed at a much higher rate that the actual market value and river properties were under assessed below their actual market value. When the assessor discovered this problem, he began to look elsewhere for other dissimilar properties which were included in the same zone or neighborhood. What the assessor found is that there were serious discrepancies throughout all of the zones in the City of Ramsey and a new format for the neighborhoods or zones had to be instituted. The previous assessment zones were by geographic locations or sections which brought serious dissimilarities among the zones or neighborhoods. The first step in the reassessment of the City of Ramsey involved breaking down the City into homogenous neighborhoods or neighborhoods of similar type and value properties. The primary basis for these neighborhoods was the land value in each of these areas or neighborhoods. The assessor researched all of the lot sales in 1988 and 1989 to arrive at a conclusion of land value for all of the various areas in the City of Ramsey. By using vacant land sales to get a value per site of the individual lots and by using an extraction method on improved property sales, the assessor found that there were nine specific land value zones or neighborhoods. By using land value as a criteria for establishing these zones, the reassessment process was a market quided..approach. After identifying these nine zones, the assessor proceeded to map them out on a City map and go out and investigate each of these areas to determine if the properties or improvements in these neighborhoods were similar in nature and exhibited the same values and .~--.,.,.,,::i.:~l characteristics throughout the zone. That analysis led to the formulation of a plan by which the City could be broken down into homogenous neighborhoods and therefore allow the assessor to make more accurate adjustments based on the sales ratio studies to improve the accuracy of the assessment with respect to market value and to insure equity in the assessment or that all types of properties will be treated equally with respect to market value.