Residents have until May 17 to protest property value increase
By Sahar Chmais
Property appraisals by the Hays County Central Appraisal District rose an average of 19% since 2020, reaching nearly $40 billion. The deadline to protest the CAD valuations is May 17.
Since May 10, there were more than 3,600 open protests, which means protests entered into the system, said Hays County Appraisal District Chief Appraiser Laura Raven. Appraisal appeals are higher by a few hundred than what the district received last year, Raven added. But the protest period is not over and people are still filing their appeals.
“We are in an upward-moving market and there is little inventory,” Raven told the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch. “There’s a supply and demand that’s driving residential property values upwards.”
Properties are valued based on sales price compared to values listed on the roll from the year prior. If properties are selling more than the year prior, it can affect a whole group of properties of a similar type, Raven said.
Residential properties are not alone in the price hike. Commercial and industrial property increased by more than 21% in value, reaching $4 billion.
Hays County has also seen growth in new properties — 68 new commercial buildings and nearly 3,000 new homes. Total improvements also added more than $1.8 billion in taxable value.
“We are not creating the market,” Raven said, “we are reflecting what’s happening in the market.”