As Montgomery County property values continue to increase, state legislators have passed a tax relief package that provides some reprieve to tax-burdened homeowners.

With an average homestead value increase of 10.1 percent in 2015 over 2014 valuations, many Montgomery County homeowners saw a significant increase in appraised property values this spring, according to the Montgomery Central Appraisal District.

MCAD Chief Appraiser Mark Castleschouldt said the increase can be attributed to the rising cost of real estate in the area, incoming residential developments and an increase in housing demand.

“The market is up throughout the county, regardless of whether you live in Willis, Conroe or Oak Ridge North,” Castleschouldt said. “There is a tremendous amount of market activity.”

With its $3.8 billion tax relief package, the Texas Legislature is cutting taxes for businesses and homeowners. The package increases the current $15,000 homestead exemption to $25,000, removing a part of the total value of a homeowner’s property from taxation. The increase will go into effect this year, subject to passage of a constitutional amendment during the Nov. 3 election.

The legislation also permanently reduces the business margins tax by 25 percent and requires governing bodies to have a 60 percent supermajority vote to increase property taxes beyond the effective tax rate.

The homestead exemption increase is the first since 1997. Representing about 25 percent of the state’s median home value, the exemption means average homeowners throughout the state of Texas could save about $207 in 2016, according to state legislators.

State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe­—who with Senate Joint Resolution 1 and Senate Bill 1 proposed the legislation that led to the homestead exemption increase—said Montgomery County is among a handful of suburban regions throughout the state seeing rapid property value growth.

“This time of the year is a tough time of the year for Texas taxpayers, especially those that live in the 15 to 18 counties that are experiencing fast-track compounded high growth like Montgomery, Collin, Fort Bend, Denton and Williamson,” Creighton said. “Suburban counties are some of the hardest hit in the state for rising appraisals, and we are trying to increase their homestead exemption so it offsets rising appraised values.”

Additional reporting by Wendy Cawthon