Property appraisal district not expecting surge of value protests before May 31 cutoff.

Property appraisal district not expecting surge of value protests before May 31 cutoff.

By Marty Toohey
Austin American Statesman
Sunday, May 20, 2007

If recent history is any indication, Travis County homeowners won't be showing up in droves to protest the latest big increases in their property tax appraisals.

Despite back-to-back increases in the appraised value of single-family residences — 8 percent in 2007, 7.5 percent in 2006 — the Travis Central Appraisal District expects no uptick in protests from homeowners as the May 31 deadline for filing appeals approaches.

"It's too early to tell for sure," said Mark Price, the district's director of appraisals. "But we're actually behind last year's pace."

The median value of a Travis County home — the point at which half the homes are worth more and half worth less — is now $181,722, a historical high.

But that figure masks a vast spread in median values calculated by the appraisal district: from $522,053 in the 78746 ZIP code, which includes West Lake Hills, to $91,076 in the 78719 ZIP code around Elroy in southeastern Travis County.

A higher appraised value does not necessarily mean a higher tax bill.

State law caps the amount that the appraisal of a primary residence can increase for tax purposes at 10 percent a year.

That, plus slight tax-rate reductions by most Travis County governments, meant that many property owners' tax bills did not change noticeably last year.

Chief Appraiser Art Cory said people were probably less eager to protest because their bottom lines didn't change much.

The district had expected more than 100,000 protests but got about half that number, similar to previous years.

Still, in some parts of Austin, the concern over soaring values is also rising.

South Congress, Tarrytown, West Lake Hills, Hyde Park and parts of downtown have seen median home values shoot up by 38 percent or more over two years.

The increases are even more dramatic in East Austin, where wealthier residents are moving in, old houses are being replaced by larger ones, and condominium development is spreading.

In the 78702 ZIP code, just east of downtown, the median home value has shot up 43 percent over two years.

"For a person with resources, that can be a good thing," said Rudy Williams, head of the Organization of Central East Austin Neighborhoods. If not, "you're in a world of hurt. You only need two years of bad taxes to get to the point you can't keep up."

Williams said the people who would most benefit from a successful protest, poor homeowners and seniors on a fixed income, are also the least likely to file one.

"They don't really know how to fight the system," he said. "And when you go in there (to protest), it's pretty overwhelming."

It shouldn't be, say the appraisal district and the board that rules on protests.

The protest process starts with an informal hearing between the property owner and district employee, who can change the appraised value.

From there, a property owner can request a formal hearing, which is presided over by a three-person volunteer appraisal review board.

Charles Pennie, who serves on the review board, said people should not be intimated by the board, "because we don't work for the appraisal district."

"We're an oversight board," Pennie said. "We work for everybody."

In 2006, more than a third of the protests were successful.

The county's median home value dropped by about $1,700 as a result of those protests, according to the appraisal district.