On April 14, the Travis Central Appraisal District released 2023 appraisals for homeowners online.

The takeaway

The median market value of home went from $612,102 to $612,568, or an 0.08% increase year over year. From 2021 to 2022, the increase was 48.9%.

“The data tells us that the local housing market is stabilizing and returning to a prepandemic normal,” TCAD chief appraiser Marya Crigler said. “But the retail, hotel, multifamily and industrial sectors continue to see strong growth.”





Terms to know

Each year, TCAD, a state entity, appraises homes to determine a property as it will be used to determine the tax bill.

According to TCAD, appraisals will include the following information for homeowners:

• Market value: a value based on what a property would sell for as of Jan. 1.
• Taxable value: the assessed value minus any exemption amounts. It is used to calculate property taxes for each taxing unit.

The owner’s tax bill will be calculated using the taxable value and the tax rate set by each of the taxing entities. Those entities can include the local school district, city and county. In Travis County, residents also pay a tax to Central Health—the county’s health district—and many pay a tax rate for Austin Community College.

To see how tax bills work, read more here.

Those entities will determine update tax rates later in the year, and homeowners will receive a tax bill in October or soon after, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts office. Often, if an individual is paying for their home through a mortgage, the mortgage company will pay the bill out of escrow—or money that is set aside from the homeowners regular payments.

How to protest a home value

Appraisal notices will be mailed out to 434,362 Travis County property owners now through early May, according to TCAD.

Owners who wish to protest their appraised rate must do so by May 15 or 30 days after a notice has been mailed, whichever is later.

From April 17 to June 30, TCAD will move protests through an informal process where the agency will offer settlements to the homeowners, who may discuss concerns with an appraiser.

Homeowners who do not accept a settlement offer will then have the opportunity to present their case to the Travis Appraisal Review Board, an independent group of citizens authorized to resolve disputes. Those hearings start in June.

TCAD will host a webinar on the protest process on May 3. Registration is available at www.traviscad.org/webinars.

How to file for an exemption

Travis County residents can learn more about filing for exemptions here.