For more than 95% of residential properties, the increase will be higher than 20%, Harris County Chief Appraiser Roland Altinger said. Harris County homes in all price ranges saw value increases of 21% this year. Weiss pointed out the price of starter homes has also increased significantly.
“The idea of the $150,000 or $175,000 starter home continues to evaporate,” he said. “A starter home is now $250,000, if you’re lucky, but in many cases it’s closer to $300,000.”
Similarly, Altinger also said the Harris County market has evolved significantly.
“Value increases this year have been unprecedented,” Altinger said in a statement. “In my almost 40 years in the real estate business, I have never, ever seen such large increases in market values.”
In 2021, residential properties in Harris County rose by around 9%, according to the HCAD. The median sales price of single-family homes in the county was $300,000 in 2021, a 15.4% increase over 2020, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.
As market values continue to increase, Weiss said, so will the tax burden on homeowners—who on average will see those values go up 28% in Fort Bend County.
Data collected by the FBCAD showed in 2021, Fort Bend County had a $76.5 billion market value in residential properties. That has increased by 31%—or about $25 billion—in 2022. Weiss called the market value increase from 2021-22 “irrational” compared to previous years.
“Historically, the data ... regarding homesteads is that in any given year, about 23,000-25,000 homes end up hitting their homestead cap, meaning their market value has increased by more than $10,000,” he said. “Countywide, that data this year is 169,000 [homes], meaning that the market has gone, quite frankly, irrational.”
Weiss identified several factors that are driving the high values: low interest rates that are now increasing, inflated construction costs, economic stimulus from the federal government, continued demand for better work-from-home amenities, historically low supplies, out-of-area relocations, and corporate buying. Property owners in both counties had until May 16 to protest the appraisal. Fort Bend County exemption applications filed in the first quarter of 2022, which is about what they receive in an average year Harris County of residential properties will see an average increase of more than 20%
Appraisal figures
Harris County
9,000 exemption applications were filed in the first quarter of 2022, which is about what they receive in an average year.
76% of all property value across the county is in residential properties.
$76.5 billion residential property market value in 2021 increased 31% to $100.5 billion in 2022
Fort Bend County
There was an 8%-10% rise in cost among residential properties in Harris County in 2021
95% of residential properties will see an average increase of more than 20%
$300K was the median sales price of single-family homes in Harris County in 2021, a 15.4% increase from 2020
Sources: Harris County Appraisal District, Fort Bend Central Appraisal District, Houston Association of Realtors/Community Impact Newspaper
