North Texans feeling sticker shock after receiving property value notices
TARRANT COUNTY (CBSNewsTexas.com) – Property value notices have started arriving in mailboxes across North Texas, and if you're feeling sticker shock – you're not alone.
Property owners can expect to see values go up by 10% to 20% this year.
About 100 of them showed up at the Tarrant Appraisal District office Monday, looking for an explanation or some relief, after getting their property value notices over the weekend.
"It was $90 to $100,000 over last year," said Brian Gatley, who couldn't believe what his Azle home was appraised at. "You expect some of it, but I didn't expect that much."
Tarrant County's chief appraiser, Jeff Law, says values in Tarrant County will be up around 18% across the board. The latest increase could lead to yet another increase in property tax bills in the fall, if school districts, cities and counties, don't decrease their taxing rates.
"I have already gotten word that Dallas County's going to be up at least 15%, and other appraisal districts across Texas are going to be up double digits," Law said. "I've seen some as high as 30% increases in value."
It's an indicator of just how strong the Texas real estate market continues to be, even though prices have eased off all-time highs.
"Our appraised values for 2023 are based upon 2022 sales data and a little bit into 2023," said Law. "Basically, demand has continued to outpace supply during that timeframe, and the average sales prices have continued to go up."
Property owners who believe the value isn't right can bring in evidence to an appraiser. If they can't reach an agreement, owners can file a protest to try to get it reduced.
The protest deadline is Monday, May 15 in Tarrant County.
"Pricing me out of my house, it's really what's happening," said Gatley.
He plans to protest his appraisal, even though his attempt last year didn't work.
"But hopefully this year we might get lucky, hopefully get a little bit knocked off that," he said.
Texas lawmakers are currently considering several bills to give some relief to property owners who have seen valuations go up, year after year. The Senate is looking at increasing the homestead exemption, while the House is proposing a five percent cap on appraisals each year.