Texas homeowners reeling after property tax appraisals skyrocket

COLLIN COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - Some new numbers are painting a clear picture of how hard North Texas homeowners are getting hit by skyrocketing property tax appraisals.

CBS 11 News has learned that Collin County expects a record of 100,000 homeowners to protest their appraisals. A county commissioner we spoke with says it's the smart thing to do if you need financial relief.

A broken sprinkler system outside his home in Lucas, Texas is the least of Marc Sherrin's concerns after opening the mail. Looking at his statement he said, "We owe $75,000 more than last year looks like. We're going to have to protest again."

Sherrin and his family live in a small Collin County town where the price of the average home is already steep -- at $600,000. But appraisals this year, like the one he received in the mail, are up more than 30% across-the-board which makes the median home value now more than $900,000.

"I'm just kind of at my wits end," Sherrin said. "I don't know what to do."

The cities of Prosper, McKinney, Frisco, and Celina are all reporting home appraisal values above 30%, according to new numbers recently provided to County County leaders.

• Collin County Home Values

McKinney up 31%
Frisco up 32%
Celina up 38%
Prosper up 36%

"It's just astonishing, it's flabbergasting the amount of the increases," said Collin County Commissioner Darrell Hale. Unfortunately Hale says the increases may continue for several years.

"You've had building cost increase the normal supply and demand... but the other reason the feds are having to start intervening is because the money supply has been increased so much," he said.

Hale recommends seeking a homestead exemption, if you qualify. Also talk to your elected officials who set the upcoming tax rates. And file a protest, because he says you're likely to get at least a slight reduction that you can benefit from next year and the year after that.

Of the 293,000 homes appraised in Collin County this year, only 2,500 did not see their property values go up.