Today, that same house is appraised at over $471,000, according to the Brazoria County Appraisal District. Its appraised value in 2020 was nearly $334,460, meaning it rose more than $137,000—or 41.04%—in appraised value in three years.
“Come 2021, the value and taxes and all that just skyrocketed,” Stephanie Waddell said. “It’s only continuing to go that direction.”
Chad Waddell said he wanted a pool built on his property for his grandchildren to enjoy, but he won’t do it while property appraisals are climbing so rapidly. If he built a pool, the Waddells’ home’s value would climb even more, and their annual tax bills would therefore also rise for as long as they live in the home, he said.
“It’s not an avenue we’re willing to go down,” Chad Waddell said.
The rising values are affecting the Waddells’ other funds. They now put less money into retirement due to tax bill increases, they said. If this trend continues, their tax bills may end up costing more than the principal and interest on their mortgage, Chad Waddell said.
The Waddells are not alone; since 2012, the average taxable value of a house in Galveston County has increased from $119,891 to a projected $249,097 in 2023—a 107.77% increase in 11 years. Despite consistently declining county tax rates, the average county tax bill has increased from $719.24 in 2012 to a projected $915.59 in 2023.
Brazoria County Appraisal District officials did not return multiple requests for comment or data.
The problem is severe enough across Texas that the state House and Senate both took cracks at passing property appraisal relief legislation during this year’s 88th Legislature and two special sessions. As of press time, both chambers were in the midst of voting on a compromise between both their original plans, said Cheryl Johnson, Galveston County tax-assessor collector.
Johnson was tapped in June to be a member of the House’s newly formed Select Study Committee on Sustainable Property Tax Relief working on legislative recommendations for sustainable property appraisal relief.
“I believe the people in Texas are getting priced out of their homes, ... and we’ve got to do something about it,” she said.Local impact
Pam Stuckey lives in the city of Brazoria and founded the Facebook group BC Tax Resistance group in 2019. In four years, the group’s membership has grown to more than 13,200 residents.
Stuckey said she founded the Brazoria County group as a grassroots effort to protest sky-high taxes residents were experiencing. Some members of the group are experiencing their property appraisals doubling or even tripling in the span of a few years, effectively doubling or tripling their annual tax bills, Stuckey said.
“It’s just criminal,” she said.
Stuckey said one reason residents are fed up with growing property appraisals is that it can’t be planned for. Residents can decide what to spend their money on, but that decision is out of their hands when it comes to their tax bills.
“You have no control on what they’re going to tax your house on,” she said.
Each year, Texas appraisal districts, which are run by the state, are required by law to appraise residential and commercial properties at their fair-market value as of Jan. 1. This means homes are annually appraised by districts at the expected value for which they would sell.
For instance, Stuckey’s grandson bought a house this year only for its appraised value to double, Stuckey said.“He bought what he could afford, but now he can’t afford it,” she said, noting he’ll have to take a second job to pay for the taxes. “It’s not right.”
Rosharon resident Chuck Alexander’s appraised value has increased from $495,870 in 2017 to $871,650 this year—an increase of $375,780, or 75.78%, in six years. The growth in his property tax bills has made him cut down on eating at restaurants, going to bars and the movies, and frivolous shopping, he said in an email to Community Impact.
“All of these things cut down on Brazoria [County] sales tax revenue as well as hurting local jobs,” he said. “Once this starts, it’s just a vicious cycle of tax increases to make up for that lost revenue.”
Johnson said rising appraisals also have an effect on rental properties. Commercial properties, such as apartment complexes, are increasing in appraised values just like single-family homes, and the renters are the ones who pay, she said.
“They are passing that onto renters,” Johnson said.
Reform efforts
Due to the growing problem, state legislators this year took separate attempts at reforming property appraisals.
During the state’s 88th Legislature, the House filed House Bill 1 to cap appraisal increases at 5% annually and reduce school district taxes by 16.2 cents. School district tax bills are the largest tax bills most homeowners pay each year.
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 1 proposed a 10-cent reduction in school district taxes and increasing the homestead exemption for school taxes from $40,000 to $100,000, Johnson said.
Homestead exemptions cap how much a resident’s primary home can increase in appraised value year over year. Additionally, homestead exemptions withhold a certain amount of value from being taxed by certain entities. In Texas, homestead exemptions withhold value from being taxed by school districts.
The House and the Senate could not agree on which legislation to pass, so Gov. Greg Abbott called for a special session to get the chambers to come up with a plan that includes reducing the school district tax rate. The first session ran May 29-June 27 with no decision, but on July 10, during the second special session, legislators announced a compromise.
Under the new plan, school district tax rates would be compressed by 10.7 cents, which is slightly higher than the Senate’s original plan and much lower than the 16.2-cent reduction the House originally proposed. However, the homestead exemption on school district taxes would increase from $40,000 to $100,000, as the Senate originally proposed.
Additionally, the compromise includes maintaining the annual appraisal increase cap on homesteads at 10% whereas the House proposed reducing it to 5%. However, the compromise also calls for allowing 20% appraisal caps on other properties besides homesteads during a three-year trial period. Today, no such cap exists.“That is a big change,” Johnson said, noting business owners will benefit with such a cap in place. “This will help a lot of people.”
Johnson said she still prefers the House’s original plan because it would result in greater savings for homeowners. However, the appraisal cap for properties other than homesteads in the compromise plan is a step in the right direction, she said.
“That 20% is a start, and now we just need to take it to the next step,” she said.
As part of the effort, House Speaker Dade Phelan on June 20 announced the Select Study Committee on Sustainable Property Tax Relief, which includes Johnson. The committee is considering issues that affect property taxes.Additionally, the group is studying the possibility of limiting taxable value to maximize homeowners’ savings, eliminating maintenance and operations taxes by 2035, and reducing the tax burden of appraisal increases on property, Phelan said.
State Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, said the state has $17.6 billion set aside for property tax relief and that, due to Abbott’s charge, legislators must come to an agreement this summer.
“At the end of the day, we have to get this done,” Bonnen said. “It’s a top priority for me.”
