2024 Property appraisals are out

[Steel Shank 9421]

Appraisal Districts getting into the pipe laying business.

[HenryJames 66037]

Your mom appraised my pipe laying last night.

[Dnaguy 11917]

11 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

Your mom appraised my pipe laying last night.

Is that how you got your Disabled Persons exemption?

[Wilcox Cummingtonite 2937]

Nothing in Comal yet.

[Texas Jeff 1944]

On 4/6/2024 at 9:36 AM, CooterBrown said:

I’ve heard from a reliable source that in the next major bond package (probably 10 years away) there’s a plan for McCallum to be rebuilt into a 4 story high school. They’d build the majority of it on the baseball/softball fields so the school can stay open during construction. When complete, new ball fields and the remainder of the new campus would be built on the old school location. The teams would practice and play at northwest park in the interim.

McCallum talk not going away...

Here's the latest presentation showing what they are planning (starts around slide 12).

[59 Burst 434]

On 4/7/2024 at 9:07 AM, Samson's Wig said:

Do you live in Austin?  You can get to $20k fairly easily (but yes, it's not average homes at that amount).  I don't think people outside of Austin realize just how much we pay in property taxes, the vast majority of which do not stay local.  It's, in part, how the state funds itself, and it should be criminal.  Almost half of it goes to AISD, which is to say it's stolen by the state to hand out to politically favorable suburban districts (and a big chunk just goes into the general fund).  Austinites are robbed blind by the State of Texas.

I left Austin many years ago. I get it, you got to do what you got to do, but damn.

[Samson's Wig 3191]

7 hours ago, 59 Burst said:

I left Austin many years ago. I get it, you got to do what you got to do, but damn.

I've considered spearheading an Austin secession movement.  I haven't found any precedent for a city seceding from a state (although some states allow a city to secede from a county), but I'd like to see how the rest of Texas enjoys paying for their public schools (and other programs) without having the citizens of Austin as a whipping boy and piggy bank.  I would likely require federal funding of some kind, and the city would become something along the lines of D.C. I think somewhere around 25% of their budget is funded by the feds.  We wouldn't need that much as we wouldn't be housing their infrastructure.  I don't think it would be a hard sell for the majority of Texans, who spew vitriol at Austin with every breath, as they've been trained to do to keep the entire charade going. 

Taxes wouldn't go down in this scenario, of course, but at least they'd stay local.  All a pipe dream, but a fun one to indulge in from time to time.

[Chips O'Toole 1322]

Down 13.5% in Hays.  I'm pinching myself, I thought they would raise it again for no reason just because it's their favorite. 

[Paper_jam 831]

In NE Austin, my 2024 market value is actually ~1% less than my 2023 value. Most of the homes around me either stayed the same or went up very slightly (a couple of percent). Not too bad.

 

 

[Texas Jeff 1944]

Travis County now out.  I'm down 17% after being up 90% two years ago.

It must be nice to be a county appraiser and just throw random numbers at the wall for a living.

[Shaggy3.0 1695]

On 4/9/2024 at 2:27 PM, Chips O'Toole said:

Down 13.5% in Hays.  I'm pinching myself, I thought they would raise it again for no reason just because it's their favorite. 

how?  share your wisdom and link to your newsletter.

our Hays properties are up ~10%.  protesting property assessments, my hobby i guess.  every damn year.

 

[BabaYaga 15288]

Tax rate down.  Value up.  Wallet fucked

[Chips O'Toole 1322]

8 minutes ago, Shaggy3.0 said:

how?  share your wisdom and link to your newsletter.

our Hays properties are up ~10%.  protesting property assessments, my hobby i guess.  every damn year.

 

That sucks.  I have no idea, I think they just fucked us so hard two years ago and the comps have been so low since then that they had to correct it.  It's either completely random dart throwing or possibly because houses were sitting on the market for so long, that not enough of them actually sold to be used as comps.  

[Red Five 40836]

Up 12% in SW Austin.

[texasdago 7567]

Appraisal down 20% in a neighborhood where I can probably get last year's appraised price.  Same goes for my neighbors.  Not complaining.  SW Austin.  

[UTGrad98 2271]

No change in this year's appraisal but I'll be paying more due to homestead exemption and the 10% increase limit from last year. 

[Steel Shank 9421]

Land up 35%, 18% overall. SW Austin. Land since 2021 up 475%.

[LCHorn 2612]

Wonderful, according to TCAD our property value has increased 29% from when we purchased 12/21.  That's definitely supportable based on market data...

 

[YGIFS 19449]

Multi-family product appraisals are way up in Austin this year.  Which, in turn, gets passed on to renters.  

We are in a race to the bottom as a State.  

[CooterBrown 18003]

Mine went up 15.1%. WTF.  I guess the two new constructions on my street that went for $2.1M in the past year fucked up everyone's valuations.

My improvements increased almost 50%.  There have been no improvements.

Hopefully Pro Tax can fix it.

Edited April 12 by CooterBrown

[HRSchenker 2268]

Fraternity brother's home in Travis County is flat. Are yall sure the online values are updated? 

[bluto 4912]

Lordy if you’re in or own in Dallas county you got no lubed. Everything I’ve seen is 20+% bumps. Unreal. 

[CleverNickname 1308]

Nw Austin.  I'm down 7.5% but appraisal still hasn't caught (10% yoy max) the run up from 2021.

[boilerhorn 1373]

NW Austin - Travis County - roughly flat YoY, still down around 15% from 2022.

That said, taxable (aka net appraised) value up 10% - still trying to catch up to the 100% increase from 2021 to 2022.  Ugh. 

[Wild Bill 324]

Down 10% in Harris County

 

[jimmyjazz 45887]

LOL.  Appraised down 31%, taxable up 9%.

[utee94 15805]

On 4/13/2024 at 3:23 PM, jimmyjazz said:

LOL.  Appraised down 31%, taxable up 9%.

This is the way

 

[swraith 345]

Travis County
Land Value - No change
Improvements - Down 15%
Appraised - Down 7%
Net Appraised - Up 8%

[Wiler77 1566]

On 4/12/2024 at 8:40 AM, Shaggy3.0 said:

how?  share your wisdom and link to your newsletter.

our Hays properties are up ~10%.  protesting property assessments, my hobby i guess.  every damn year.

 

Same here for Hays.

Appraised value up 10%.

"Market value" down 15%, but still 12% higher than appraised.  So I assume I have 0% chance of winning any challenge.  The market value seems to be pretty close to what I could sell it for.

[ZB'Tejas 593]

Improvements down 17%

Appraised up 10% still trying to catch up.

[utee94 15805]

5 hours ago, Wiler77 said:

Same here for Hays.

Appraised value up 10%.

"Market value" down 15%, but still 12% higher than appraised.  So I assume I have 0% chance of winning any challenge.  The market value seems to be pretty close to what I could sell it for.

You never know.  If you can show that the comps being used for the market valuation aren't directly comparable to your house (more recently renovated, etc.) and can show that more similar houses are selling for less, then you could make a case.  My FIL protests every year, and eventually when he retired he served on the Travis County board that handles disputes.  As long as people came in and told a reasonable story, he said they'd often cut at least some if it.

[Victor Lazlo 1776]

PSA for Harris County homeowners aged 65 and over.

I discovered a couple of months ago that Harris County gives a $275,000 homestead exemption to homeowners aged 65 and above.  That is in addition to your normal 20% homestead exemption.

So, doing the math, any house valued at $344,000 and below would owe roughly zero dollars in county taxes, instead of a $344,000 house owing roughly $2,400 in county taxes next year without the exemption. A house worth more than $344,000 will still get the benefits of the $275,000 over 65 and the 20% homestead exemptions. 

The exemption also freezes the school district taxes as of the year the homeowner turns 65. The ISD taxes can never go up going forward.

It all is effective the year that the oldest on the title turns 65.

Unless HCAD somehow has the oldest of the homeowners’ date of birth on file, you must apply for the exemption. I would apply anyway at the beginning of the year the oldest turns 65 just to make sure. Very simple form you can do online on their website, you must upload your Texas driver’s license to prove the age 65.

The reason I bring this up is because two of my close neighbors and best friends had no idea about the over 65 exemption when I told them that I had filed. Now, after filing for the exemption, they and their spouses are supposed to get a couple of years of refunds from the county and ISD from their overpayments. Which will be several thousands of dollars.

The county certainly doesn’t publicize the exemptions, I can’t imagine how many people don’t know to take advantage of them. If you aren’t that old, make sure your parents are getting the exemptions.

 

[SquishMitten 10403]

Same boat as a lot of y'all. Down 8% but net up 10%. Gonna be that way for a while...

[crash_davis 23100]

23 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

Same boat as a lot of y'all. Down 8% but net up 10%. Gonna be that way for a while...

Exactly. But my Appraised and Net Appraised are pretty much even now. Will be interesting what happens next year.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21872]

On 4/9/2024 at 9:50 AM, Samson's Wig said:

I've considered spearheading an Austin secession movement.  I haven't found any precedent for a city seceding from a state (although some states allow a city to secede from a county), but I'd like to see how the rest of Texas enjoys paying for their public schools (and other programs) without having the citizens of Austin as a whipping boy and piggy bank.  I would likely require federal funding of some kind, and the city would become something along the lines of D.C. I think somewhere around 25% of their budget is funded by the feds.  We wouldn't need that much as we wouldn't be housing their infrastructure.  I don't think it would be a hard sell for the majority of Texans, who spew vitriol at Austin with every breath, as they've been trained to do to keep the entire charade going. 

Taxes wouldn't go down in this scenario, of course, but at least they'd stay local.  All a pipe dream, but a fun one to indulge in from time to time.

Well, here is the text of the joint resolution by which Texas was annexed into the US and which allows the formation of up to four additional states "by the consent of said State". The Texas Triangle of DFW, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio currently comprise about 68% of the population, so they might have the votes to create a new state.

No. 8. Joint Resolution for annexing Texas to the United States.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress doth consent that the territory properly included within, and rightfully belonging to the Republic of Texas, may be erected into a new State, to be called the State of Texas, with a republican form of government, to be adopted by the people of said republic, by deputies in convention assembled, with the consent of the existing government, in order that the same may be admitted as one of the States of this Union.

2. And be it further resolved, That the foregoing consent of Congress is given upon the following conditions, and with the following guarantees, to wit: First, Said State to be formed, subject to the adjustment by this government of all questions of boundary that may arise with other governments; and the constitution thereof, with the proper evidence of its adoption by the people of said Republic of Texas, shall be transmitted to the President of the United States, to be laid before Congress for its final action, on or before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and forty-six. Second. Said State, when admitted into the Union, after ceding to the United States, all public edifices, fortifications, barracks, ports and harbors, navy and navy-yards, docks, magazines, arms, armaments, and all other property and means pertaining to the public defence belonging to said Republic of Texas, shall retain all the public funds, debts, taxes, and dues of every kind, which may belong to or be due and owing said republic; and shall also retain all the vacant and unappropriated lands lying within its limits, to be applied to the payment of the debts and liabilities of said Republic of Texas, and the residue of said lands, after discharging said debts and liabilities to be disposed of as said State may direct; but in no event are said debts and liabilities to become a charge upon the Government of the United States. Third. New States, of convenient size, not exceeding four in number, in addition to said State of Texas, and having sufficient population, may hereafter, by the consent of said State, be formed out of the territory thereof, which shall be entitled to admission under the provisions of the federal constitution. And such States as may be formed out of that portion of said territory lying south of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north latitude, commonly known as the Missouri compromise line, shall be admitted into the Union with or without slavery, as the people of each State asking admission may desire. And in such State or States as shall be formed out of said territory north of said Missouri compromise line, slavery, or involuntary servitude, (except for crime,) shall be prohibited.

3. And be it further resolved, That if the President of the United States shall in his judgment and discretion deem it most advisable, instead of proceeding to submit the foregoing resolution to the Republic of Texas, as an overture on the part of the United States for admission, to negotiate with that Republic; then,

Be it resolved, That a State, to be formed out of the present Republic of Texas, with suitable extent and boundaries, and with two representatives in Congress, until the next apportionment of representation, shall be admitted into the Union, by virtue of this act, on an equal footing with the existing States, as soon as the terms and conditions of such admission, and the cession of the remaining Texian territory to the United States shall be agreed upon by the Governments of Texas and the United States : And that the sum of one hundred thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated to defray the expenses of missions and negotiations, to agree upon the terms of said admission and cession, either by treaty to be submitted to the Senate, or by articles to be submitted to the two houses of Congress, as the President may direct.

APPROVED, March 1, 1845.

[crash_davis 23100]

The rural parts of Texas will be "Hell yeah, we don't want no part of those major cities!"

And when they find out how much of the population and businesses in those major cities pay for shit the rural counties desperately rely on, "Hey, I didn't mean that. Can you please come back? We need your socialist money."

[crash_davis 23100]

IMPORTANT PSA for Travis County voters. On May 4th, you will be able to vote for the assholes who control the Travis County Appraisal District. Here's your chance to be heard.

Honest question, is TravisCAD the only CAD where we can vote for the BoD?

https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2024/04/democrats-vs-republicans-first-election-coming-for-travis-county-appraisal-district-board/

Even though their party affiliations will not be on the ballot, three Democrats, three Republicans and a Libertarian are running for three seats on the Travis Central Appraisal District Board of Directors. That election on May 4 will be the first such election since passage of a law requiring that three of those directors be elected.

A new state law dictates that at least two of the three elected members of the TCAD Board of Directors agree on all Appraisal Review Board (ARB) appointments. 

The Travis County Democratic Party has endorsed the three Democrats in the race: Jett Hanna, Shenghao “Daniel” Wang and Dick Lavine – in Places 1, 2 and 3, respectively.

Two well-known Republicans – Travis County Republican Party Chair Matt Mackowiak and former Austin City Council Member Don Zimmerman – and a lesser-known candidate, Bill May, are also vying for the three seats. In addition, software engineer Jonathan Craig Patschke, who is listed online as the treasurer of the Travis County Libertarian Party, is running against Wang and Mackowiak for Place 2.

 

 

[texasdago 7567]

58 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

The rural parts of Texas will be "Hell yeah, we don't want no part of those major cities!"

And when they find out how much of the population and businesses in those major cities pay for shit the rural counties desperately rely on, "Hey, I didn't mean that. Can you please come back? We need your socialist money."

Just show them this map... this if for entertainment purposes only and not meant to start a political conversation.

[Samson's Wig 3191]

8 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Just show them this map... this if for entertainment purposes only and not meant to start a political conversation.

I'm kind of amazed that Lubbock County has remained red as its population has grown.  One would think the clock has to be ticking, though, especially with the university there.  Is it the most populous conservative county in the US after Oklahoma County (Oklahoma City)?  And no, Orange County no longer counts.  Nothing political intended here, as I'm not saying it's a good or a bad thing, just a reality that more populous areas tend to turn blue these days.

[texasdago 7567]

3 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

I'm kind of amazed that Lubbock County has remained red as its population has grown.  One would think the clock has to be ticking, though, especially with the university there.  Is it the most populous conservative county in the US after Oklahoma County (Oklahoma City)?  And no, Orange County no longer counts.  Nothing political intended here, as I'm not saying it's a good or a bad thing, just a reality that more populous areas tend to turn blue these days.

It may be growing but I don't think it would matter in that part of the state but, again, back to taxes.  

[Samson's Wig 3191]

5 minutes ago, texasdago said:

It may be growing but I don't think it would matter in that part of the state but, again, back to taxes.  

I come from that part of the state and I hear you, but the city of Lubbock itself is still much less conservative than the surrounding areas, just like most larger cities.  I suspect that folks who aren't dye in the wool republicans just don't bother to vote up there for some reason.  They passed an abortion sanctuary bill a few years back with only around 10,000 votes.  In a city of ~300,000 That's insane to me.  I think the issue may be more of no one bothering to rally the opposition than anything else, but if they continue to grow the shift will happen at some point, just like it has with Fort Worth.

 

But yes, derailing significantly now. Apologies.  Property taxes suck and I honestly don't know who to vote for that will make it any better.   

Edited April 17 by Samson's Wig

[crash_davis 23100]

Income tax vs property tax. Running states cost money. States are going to get their money someway or shit will go to hell.

 

[luke duke 6412]

I’m in Dallas. It looks like I’ll be paying 10% more every year until I’m eligible for the geezer exemption. By the time I get there I’m sure my property taxes alone will be more than my combined PITI when I bought the place.

[Samson's Wig 3191]

3 hours ago, crash_davis said:

Income tax vs property tax. Running states cost money. States are going to get their money someway or shit will go to hell.

 

No one really gave a crap before federal SALT tax deductions were capped in 2017.   While that mostly impacted rich folks in blue states with high income tax, property taxes in Texas have gotten so out of wack that middle-class Texans now share a similar beef with rich folks in  New York and Los Angeles.  Strange bed fellows. 

[Larry T. Spider 1746]

4 hours ago, crash_davis said:

Income tax vs property tax. Running states cost money. States are going to get their money someway or shit will go to hell.

 

Texans won’t go for an income tax because certain groups have convinced people they will end up with high rates for property and income. Who knows, they might be right.

I think increasing the gas tax and sales tax are more feasible, but also unlikely. At least those help the red politicians argue that “more people have a skin in the game”. Both act as inflationary though.

[SydneyCarton 48054]

On 4/7/2024 at 8:08 AM, MadTrapper said:

Harris county, Heights area.  Have a rental house that went down a bit, house we homestead went up about 8%...going to protest that one and see what sticks, but there's been some renos in the neighborhood that a re probably driving that.

Also Houston Heights adjacent. Went up 15%. 

[SydneyCarton 48054]

18 hours ago, crash_davis said:

Income tax vs property tax. Running states cost money. States are going to get their money someway or shit will go to hell.

 

Shit WILL go to hell? You mean like a 3rd world country electrical grid, the abandonment of public school funding, things like that? That will start happening?

[Firemans4Horn 18034]

Wherein We Ask: WTF Is Going on With DCAD’s Property Valuations?

 

Spoiler

Property tax valuations have increased by hundreds of thousands for some Dallas homeowners, providing quite a shock. What's up with that?

 

“Oh my god,” a friend texted me Monday morning. “Have you seen the DCAD appraisals yet?” A few minutes later, I got another message on Facebook: “These appraisals are insane.”

And so I looked at mine. Casa Erickson is in North Dallas, just off of Forest and Marsh. For the last two years, the valuation of our three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,900-square-foot home built in 1961 has been exactly the same. This year, it increased by more than $85,000, or 26 percent over last year.

“WTF is DCAD’s deal?” another friend asked. Indeed.

So I asked around. A coworker in Oak Cliff’s Elmwood neighborhood didn’t see any increase, but a friend who lives just three blocks north saw her market value go up by almost $71,000, with most of the increase attributed to land value. My land value didn’t go up at all—the increase is solely in the home itself, which hasn’t seen any substantive improvements since last year. 

I’ve talked to people throughout Dallas who saw their property values go up substantially. A homeowner in Old East Dallas saw her home’s improvement value go up by $64,000 and the land by $95,000, but she says in reality, “My house is falling apart around me.” Another who lives off of Westmoreland and Jefferson in Oak Cliff says after her protest was denied last year, she made about $8,000 in repairs and saw her market value go up by $102,000 over last year. A homeowner in Capella Park in southwest Dallas says that homes “are not selling” but says his valuation went up by $212,000. Another property in South Oak Cliff jumped from $117,000 to $230,000. 

And it wasn’t just single-family homes, either. A condo-dweller near Mockingbird Station saw her valuation increase by 18 percent. Bisnow reportedthat commercial property valuations in Dallas County increased by an average of 21 percent, despite the fact that transactions were down by almost 60 percent last year.  Multifamily property valuations were up 20 percent, retail was up about 10 percent, and industrial properties were up a whopping 50 percent. Offices, which have stagnated the most among these non-residential uses, rose between 5 percent and 10 percent.

So why such large increases?

Dallas Central Appraisal District chief appraiser Shane Docherty did not respond to questions. (A lengthy explanation of how DCAD conducts residential appraisals can be found here.) But earlier this year, we spoke with Gerald Klassen, a research data scientist with Texas A&M University’s Real Estate Center. He says that part of the issue stems from Texas being a non-disclosure state; if you sell your home, the sale price is not public knowledge. 

This makes it more difficult for appraisal districts to track trends and immediately account for them. It also means that if you enjoyed a relatively flat valuation for the past couple of years, the new valuation may reflect what the market is really doing in your area. In our case, I wasn’t incredibly surprised—homes have been listed (and sell relatively quickly) for prices comparable to what our home was valued this year.

“When the market changes so fast, your appraisal district has no way of anticipating it and making the rapid adjustment in assessed values,” Klassen said. “So they’re behind the eight ball—they don’t have a crystal ball that tells them where prices are going to go in the coming year, or in the coming six months.”

Meritax Advisors partner Ryan Chismark shared a similar sentiment with Bisnow regarding industrial properties. “There’s an argument to be made that industrial values have historically lagged from an assessment perspective,” he said. He theorized that this year DCAD decided to “mark to market” valuations all at once.

In reality, home sales in Dallas have only slightly slowed—especially in the median price range (which, at $371,000, is up 7.5 percent since last year). Homes spend an average of 45 days on the market, and there’s roughly 2.8 months of inventory in the county. That’s how long it would take to sell all the properties presently on the market. Economists say that somewhere around six months of inventory is considered a balanced market. Nearly all the homes are selling for almost 100 percent of list price—or higher.

All of that means that the market value of a home has increased.

But by how much can and should vary by location, which is why protesting a higher than normal valuation is important. It’s highly likely that DCAD will see a new record number of protests this year—the service we use has already started compiling our documents. Most local property tax services will argue your protest for you and only require payment if they are able to get a reduction.

Compiling the documentation for your argument on your own is also relatively straightforward—download the paperwork, take photos if you think they’ll bolster your case, and reach out to a friendly real estate agent to pull comparable home sales in your neighborhood. You’ll eventually get a date to argue.

For many, hiring someone—or doing it themselves—is an easy task, even if it might require taking some time off work to plead your case. But Klassen said that the community should keep a keen eye on who is being overtaxed and make sure that those areas that have experienced historic disinvestment and redlining have resources to fight their property tax burdens, too.

“Somebody needs to help,” he said. “They’re not going to have a lot of money to pay to do the challenge. So somebody’s gonna have to step up and do it pro bono. If we’re that passionate about it, we’ve got to figure out a way to help the folks challenge the fairness of the assessment.”

 

 

[Texas Jeff 1944]

8 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:

Wherein We Ask: WTF Is Going on With DCAD’s Property Valuations?

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Property tax valuations have increased by hundreds of thousands for some Dallas homeowners, providing quite a shock. What's up with that?

 

“Oh my god,” a friend texted me Monday morning. “Have you seen the DCAD appraisals yet?” A few minutes later, I got another message on Facebook: “These appraisals are insane.”

And so I looked at mine. Casa Erickson is in North Dallas, just off of Forest and Marsh. For the last two years, the valuation of our three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,900-square-foot home built in 1961 has been exactly the same. This year, it increased by more than $85,000, or 26 percent over last year.

“WTF is DCAD’s deal?” another friend asked. Indeed.

So I asked around. A coworker in Oak Cliff’s Elmwood neighborhood didn’t see any increase, but a friend who lives just three blocks north saw her market value go up by almost $71,000, with most of the increase attributed to land value. My land value didn’t go up at all—the increase is solely in the home itself, which hasn’t seen any substantive improvements since last year. 

I’ve talked to people throughout Dallas who saw their property values go up substantially. A homeowner in Old East Dallas saw her home’s improvement value go up by $64,000 and the land by $95,000, but she says in reality, “My house is falling apart around me.” Another who lives off of Westmoreland and Jefferson in Oak Cliff says after her protest was denied last year, she made about $8,000 in repairs and saw her market value go up by $102,000 over last year. A homeowner in Capella Park in southwest Dallas says that homes “are not selling” but says his valuation went up by $212,000. Another property in South Oak Cliff jumped from $117,000 to $230,000. 

And it wasn’t just single-family homes, either. A condo-dweller near Mockingbird Station saw her valuation increase by 18 percent. Bisnow reportedthat commercial property valuations in Dallas County increased by an average of 21 percent, despite the fact that transactions were down by almost 60 percent last year.  Multifamily property valuations were up 20 percent, retail was up about 10 percent, and industrial properties were up a whopping 50 percent. Offices, which have stagnated the most among these non-residential uses, rose between 5 percent and 10 percent.

So why such large increases?

Dallas Central Appraisal District chief appraiser Shane Docherty did not respond to questions. (A lengthy explanation of how DCAD conducts residential appraisals can be found here.) But earlier this year, we spoke with Gerald Klassen, a research data scientist with Texas A&M University’s Real Estate Center. He says that part of the issue stems from Texas being a non-disclosure state; if you sell your home, the sale price is not public knowledge. 

This makes it more difficult for appraisal districts to track trends and immediately account for them. It also means that if you enjoyed a relatively flat valuation for the past couple of years, the new valuation may reflect what the market is really doing in your area. In our case, I wasn’t incredibly surprised—homes have been listed (and sell relatively quickly) for prices comparable to what our home was valued this year.

“When the market changes so fast, your appraisal district has no way of anticipating it and making the rapid adjustment in assessed values,” Klassen said. “So they’re behind the eight ball—they don’t have a crystal ball that tells them where prices are going to go in the coming year, or in the coming six months.”

Meritax Advisors partner Ryan Chismark shared a similar sentiment with Bisnow regarding industrial properties. “There’s an argument to be made that industrial values have historically lagged from an assessment perspective,” he said. He theorized that this year DCAD decided to “mark to market” valuations all at once.

In reality, home sales in Dallas have only slightly slowed—especially in the median price range (which, at $371,000, is up 7.5 percent since last year). Homes spend an average of 45 days on the market, and there’s roughly 2.8 months of inventory in the county. That’s how long it would take to sell all the properties presently on the market. Economists say that somewhere around six months of inventory is considered a balanced market. Nearly all the homes are selling for almost 100 percent of list price—or higher.

All of that means that the market value of a home has increased.

But by how much can and should vary by location, which is why protesting a higher than normal valuation is important. It’s highly likely that DCAD will see a new record number of protests this year—the service we use has already started compiling our documents. Most local property tax services will argue your protest for you and only require payment if they are able to get a reduction.

Compiling the documentation for your argument on your own is also relatively straightforward—download the paperwork, take photos if you think they’ll bolster your case, and reach out to a friendly real estate agent to pull comparable home sales in your neighborhood. You’ll eventually get a date to argue.

For many, hiring someone—or doing it themselves—is an easy task, even if it might require taking some time off work to plead your case. But Klassen said that the community should keep a keen eye on who is being overtaxed and make sure that those areas that have experienced historic disinvestment and redlining have resources to fight their property tax burdens, too.

“Somebody needs to help,” he said. “They’re not going to have a lot of money to pay to do the challenge. So somebody’s gonna have to step up and do it pro bono. If we’re that passionate about it, we’ve got to figure out a way to help the folks challenge the fairness of the assessment.”

 

 

Austin says "Those are rookie numbers".

[LCHorn 2612]

@Brisketexan This might be several years old but didn’t you post something about visiting with a tax protest attorney and they explained process a bit, or maybe said something about land value vs improvement value not important?  
 

I feel like the post made the point that for value purposes, TCAD didn’t really distinguish between land or improvements and kind of moved around the values of each in a way that didn’t always make sense (but also that protesting based on those changes didn’t appear effective).