On May 6, 2022, the Gray County Appraisal District will mail out Notices of Appraised Value to property owners. The appraisal district is required to mail a Notice of Appraised Value to property owners if the appraised value is greater than the previous year, the appraised value is greater than the rendered value, the property was not on the appraisal roll in the preceding year or an exemption was canceled or reduced for the current year.
The appraisal district is required by law to appraise property at 100 percent of market value as of January 1 of the current year. Market value is the amount at which properties sell for on the open market. Thus, appraisal district values must follow sales trends. Record sales prices have occurred over the past several years. This historic increase in property values is occurring across the state as evidenced by the press release below from the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts.
Low interest rates, the number of new home starts and a shrinking inventory of homes on the market have significantly contributed to the higher sales prices. Due to these sharp increases in sales prices, residential appraised values are expected to rise within Gray County since last year.
Property owners or their agents who receive their notices may begin the protest process immediately. There will be a protest form included with your notice of appraised value.
The appraisal district wants to remind any residential homeowners who do not have a homestead exemption to sign up. Having a homestead exemption can help reduce the amount of taxes a homeowner pays and adds a cap of 10% on the amount the assessed or taxable value can go up each year. The 10% increase will apply beginning with the second year a property owner has qualified for the exemption. The homestead exemption does not limit the amount of increase to the market value. Exemptions applications can be found either on the Texas Comptrollers website, or on the Appraisal Districts website, www.graycad.org.
For information concerning tax rates or the amount of taxes for your property please go to https://gray.countytaxrates.com. For more information on exemptions or property values please go to www.graycad.org or contact the appraisal district office at 806-665-0791. Office hours are 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday.
On March 17, 2022, The Texas Association of Appraisal Districts issued the following for immediate release.
AUSTIN – Today the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts announced historic growth in Texas real estate values. According to the association, regions around the state have seen increases in values between 20-50% since last year. Alvin Lankford, president of the association and chief appraiser of Williamson County said, “The Texas real estate market is growing as fast as we have ever seen it in the state’s history. We have all seen the countless stories about people moving to Texas from other states. This increase in population contributes to a shortage of homes available and to the increase in prices paid for homes.” Lankford added, “As a reminder, according to state law, appraisal districts are to appraise property at its market value. In fact, we are regulated by the State of Texas to make sure we do our jobs fairly and accurately. But, keep in mind, we are not responsible for setting the tax rate. We follow the law, state regulations, and the reality of real estate market sales when making our value determinations.” In a state without a personal income tax, cities, counties, hospitals, school districts and community colleges all rely heavily on property taxes. These same political subdivisions set the tax rates that determine the amount of taxes paid by homeowners and businesses. The State of Texas also benefits from property taxes to the tune of over $5.6 billion in a two-year budget cycle. That’s 75% more than the state makes from the lottery. Also, in the most recent budget passed by the legislature, the state assumed that property tax revenue collected (not appraised amounts) would increase by 6% over a two-year period. Lankford concluded with, “Considering for many of us our home is our largest investment, an increase in market value can be considered a blessing. However, many people equate an increase in market value to mean an equal increase in property taxes which is simply not the case. An increase in property taxes is sometimes needed to keep the police and fire departments adequately funded, along with our schools, hospitals, and other vital services for our communities. However, the increase in what a person owes in property taxes is unlikely to be proportional to the increase in home values. First, there is a cap of 10% on the amount the assessed value can go up for properties with a homestead exemption. Second, caps limit how much additional revenue from property taxes a taxing unit can collect without going to the voters for approval will limit the increase in taxes. It has never been more important to have a homestead exemption and the resulting 10% cap in assessed value than it is today.”
Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center information on Texas housing market as well as major metropolitan areas:
• Amarillo MSA up 13.78% year over year
• Austin-Round Rock MSA up 35.35% YoY
• Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA up 23.55% YoY
• El Paso MSA up 14.40% YoY
• Houston-The Woodlands-Sugarland MSA up 15.19% YoY
• San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA up 18.37% YoY
• Sherman-Denison MSA up 24.53% YoY
