Property Taxes Rise in Austin Despite Economy (comparable sales, sales)

[llkltk]

Had a sneak peak at our assessment for 2009. Yikes. Went up about 10 or 15K. Travis Cad is still raising values on homes despite economy. Have fun checking yours out when you get it. We will be contesting!

[HappyTexan]

I guess it depends where you live in Travis County. Folks here have posted that home prices/values are increasing not decreasing. So why shouldn't property taxes increase as well ? This is for certain desirable sections of Austin.

I'm expecting mine to go down..my property is 30K under what my 2008 assessment was according to an appraisal I got for my refinance.

[atxcio]

Traviscad.org still shows 2008 values for me.. are you using another source?

[mm57553]

If mine don't go DOWN, I will be contesting the daylights out of them. There is no way my house is worth what they say it is. A house down the street with the same floorplan, built in the same year just went on the market for $20,000 LESS than my appraised value. And that's the listing price. The only difference between that house and mine is that theirs has a 3-car garage and mine doesn't.

[austin-steve]

When contesting, remember that the assessed value is supposed to be the value as of Jan 1, 2009. That means if TCAD pulss out comps from sales a year ago, they are invalid. We generally go back 3 months when valuating a property, sometimes longer depending on the direction of the market.

You can request the comparable sales (comps) they are using to value your home. Then get you local neighborhood Realtor to run a CMA for you using sales from Oct-Dec 2008, which would determine a Jan 1, 2009 value. Anything older than that, or any sales in 2009, I would argue with them about as invalid.

Good luck. I think this will be a heavy volume protest year for TCAD.

Steve

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

When contesting, remember that the assessed value is supposed to be the value as of Jan 1, 2009. That means if TCAD pulss out comps from sales a year ago, they are invalid. We generally go back 3 months when valuating a property, sometimes longer depending on the direction of the market.

You can request the comparable sales (comps) they are using to value your home. Then get you local neighborhood Realtor to run a CMA for you using sales from Oct-Dec 2008, which would determine a Jan 1, 2009 value. Anything older than that, or any sales in 2009, I would argue with them about as invalid.

Good luck. I think this will be a heavy volume protest year for TCAD.

Steve

Thanks for that Steve. My appraisal was done end of December 2008 and does have 3 recent sales used for comparison so that would mean my appraisal is probabaly valid for any protest.

[Exiled Texan]

That's unfortunate that it is the value as of January 1st because much of the price softening and seller capitulation I have seen has only really been happening in the last 3 months. I expect a little more will follow also.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by Exiled Texan

That's unfortunate that it is the value as of January 1st because much of the price softening and seller capitulation I have seen has only really been happening in the last 3 months. I expect a little more will follow also.

I'm seeing the opposite. I just wrote two full price deals. One was first day on the market. The other 3 days. We have buyers ready to pounce when the right home shows up on the market, and because they have specific wants/needs, they won't have as much leverage to negotiate.

Of course everything depends on price range and location, There are plenty of homes that will still slide in value this year. In fact, the city overall will probably see average prices slip a bit. But there are still close-in pockets and areas that are in demand and there are a lot of buyers out looking.

Steve

[Exiled Texan]

Don't doubt you for lower price points and things that are already aggressively priced. 1A and 1B are seeing some current downward movement or things are sitting. I have seen TWO properties recently sell really quickly. In both instances, the listings caused me to say, "Now that is a good deal."

I think lower price points are seeing more demand do the 8K tax credit AND many lower price point home buyers would have bought higher in the past but due to deleveraging and frugalness being en vogue (and crazy financing no longer available), they are now lower price point buyers. I know I've slashed my budget due to many reasons.

[Elke Mariotti]

Can you grieve taxes in TX if it's not your primary residence?