Real Estate Blog

AUSTIN-TX  When homeowners in Travis County receive their next property tax bill this fall, they will likely noticing something different.

The market value of their property will be the same as in 2019. That's because Travis Central Appraisal District does not plan to reappraise residential properties this year.

Contrast that with the significant climb in values in recent years, driven by one of the hottest housing markets in the United States. The median appraised value in Travis County in 2019 for someone with a homestead exemption was $359,154, up 6.2% from 2018.

TCAD is shelving appraisals for 2020 because of a dispute with the Austin Board of Realtors. The two sides have been feuding since the Realtor organization discovered last year that the appraisal district was using local multiple listing service data from CoreLogic to help appraise homes.

ABOR sent a cease and desist letter to TCAD last May. Now Marya Crigler, TCAD's chief appraiser, said that letter prevents the appraisal district from using sales MLS data, removing one of the primary tools it uses to calculate appraisals.

"We are doing everything we can to get data," Crigler said. "We're pleading with the public: if anybody has data that they will share with us, we'd love to have it. We're not trying to induce people to violate their agreements, but we're making a plea for market data to do the job we're required to do."

Texas is a non-disclosure state, meaning sales prices for homes and other buildings...

Read the full article here: Your Next Property Tax Appraisal May Surprise You, Austin Business Journal