Travis County homeowners to see increase in market value on appraisal notices
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas - Travis Central Appraisal District is sending out appraisal notices to property owners beginning this week.
Overall, the Travis County appraisal roll increased 43% to $447 billion, led by a 56% increase in residential properties, 54% increase in commercial properties, and more than $5.8 billion in new construction.
According to this year’s values, the 2022 median market value for a residential property in Travis County is $632,208 and the median taxable value of a residential property is $338,344.
Tim Terwey has lived in his house for 31 years.
"They've raised the taxes, triple, perhaps. It's crazy," he said.
Chief Appraiser Marya Crigler says many homeowners will see increases in market value, but there are protections in place for them.
"Property owners that have had a long-term homestead exemption are going to see significant benefits for the homestead limitation. And that's the 10 percent cap that they've got on increases in their assessed value and so on," Crigler said.
She says the district's market values have been found to be low in recent years.
"We have done a very vigorous job of reviewing our market data for our analysis for this year in determining market value to ensure that we are meeting our requirement as required by state law," she said.
One broker says he doesn't see a slowdown in the market.
"Because of the upsurge in the buying process here in Central Texas, it is now a trickle-down effect all the way down to the homeowners that have been living in their homes for 30 and 40 years," Joe Stewart said.
If you think your property's market value is wrong, you can file a protest with the appraisal district. The deadline to file is May 16. Protest hearings will start in June.
Texas Pro Tax helps people do that.
"I think this year you're going to see more protests than we've ever seen because we haven't seen values like this in central Texas ever before.," Debra Bawcom, CEO of Texas Pro Tax, said.
Terwey says he's protested on his own before but wasn't satisfied.
"They never come over and appraise it, never come in and look at the house, maybe 10 years ago they did. They haven't been back since," he said.
Experts say another way to advocate is to participate in budget hearings.
"My recommendation is that our homeowners and our buyers reach out to their local city council and the state or state legislators across the state and voiced their strong opinion about what's happening in Texas," Stewart said.
"It's like having to pay your loan off again," Terwey said.
Homeowners can find more information about market values at www.traviscad.org. The district says they were hit with a cyberattack Friday, and IT is working on getting it back up and running. At last check, loading the website is hit or miss.
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