Residential property owners in Harris County have been sent assessed values for 2017, and notices for commercial and industrial property will soon follow. The county began accepting protests as of May 15. The value of residential property continued to increase, but at a slower rate than the past several years, officials said. The median sales price of single-family homes in 2016 rose 6.5 percent to $225,903, compared with $212,000 in 2015, according to the Houston Association of Realtors. Approximately 58 percent of the homes in the county increased in value since 2015, while approximately 39 percent did not see any change in value. Homes in all price ranges saw value increases with homes priced between $80,000 and $250,000 seeing the biggest increase, generally ranging between 6-8 percent. “We are seeing a greater number of properties in Harris County that are not increasing in value this year, however generally, both residential and commercial properties are still continuing to go up in value,” HCAD Chief Appraiser Roland Altinger said in a statement. HCAD is required by law to appraise all property at 100 percent of market value as of January 1, meaning appraisals are based on the prices of property sold in 2016. Meanwhile, the total number of single-family residential properties that were sold in 2016 increased 3 percent to 76,449 homes, up from 74,174 homes in 2015, according to the HAR data. The county also showed some signs of recovery from an economic downturn caused by a drop in oil prices that started in 2014, officials said. Foreclosures dropped to 1,198 in 2016 from 1,882 in 2015, officials said. Property owners who have received notices with assessed values may begin the protest process immediately. Protests are being accepted through May 31 and the process runs through July. A protest form is included with the assessed value notice, but residents can also file online at www.hcad.org/iFile.