No, Dale's right AND Travis County is fixin' to hike up appraislas anywhere from 20-40%. Here's the local paper article, sorry for the long post but I couldn't paste a link as the site requires registration to access the article. AMERICAN-STATESMAN Travis County can expect higher property appraisals Double-digit increases required by state law By Laylan Copelin Saturday, February 11, 2006 The taxable values of Travis County's offices, apartments and houses are going up dramatically as local appraisers try to comply with a state law that demands that assessed property values catch up to the area's sizzling real-estate market. The increases will be historic and broad, said Chief Appraiser Art Cory of the Travis Central Appraisal District. Property owners will be notified of the new values beginning in mid-April. "We're going to have the biggest reappraisal in Travis County history," Cory said. "At least in the 18 years I've been here." On average, Cory said: Commercial buildings and apartments will experience a 20 percent increase. High-end projects could experience 30 to 40 percent increases for apartments and as much as 50 percent for some commercial buildings. Homes valued at $1 million or more could experience a 30 to 40 percent jump. Most homes will receive taxable values that are 15 to 20 percent higher. State law limits new taxation to the first 10 percent of the reappraised value, but tax on the remainder is added in future years. There is no annual cap on increases for the taxable value of commercial buildings, multifamily properties or rental houses. State law requires local governments and school districts to lower their tax rates so they do not raise more revenue just because of an appraisal windfall, meaning the increase in tax bills could be buffered for some properties. The new appraisals will affect individual properties differently. For example, taxes would escalate more on a $1 million home that suddenly is valued at $1.5 million than a modest home that experiences only a 10 percent increase. The reappraisal of Travis County property was prompted by the state comptroller's annual review of local property values. That study, completed in January, confirmed what Cory expected: Taxable values are badly trailing sales prices in a market where the October sale of the CarrAmerica building in downtown Austin set a state record at almost $300 a square foot. Also, Austin has erased its glut of existing single-family homes on the market with three years of record sales, and, finally, last year prices began to rise. In January, the market set a record median price of $164,000. The largest increases in appraisals will be focused on the county's core: all of the properties within a circle of Capital of Texas Highway (Loop 360) on the west and U.S. 183 on the east, as well as the outlying portions of the Eanes school district and Lake Travis areas. Only property owners in the Pflugerville and Manor school districts are likely to escape double-digit increases. Taxable values there, according to the comptroller's study, are close to market rates. Also, the taxable values in the larger school districts in Williamson and Hays counties appear to be in line with the market. Charles Heimsath, president of Capitol Market Research, studies real estate trends. He said he is shocked by the prospect of such large increases. "It seems very difficult to fathom that much rise in value in only 12 months," he said. Heimsath said the local office market has an occupancy rate of only 85 percent. He said the area's apartment recovery is nascent, with rents just beginning to go up the past six months. "It seems to me the sale of CarrAmerica has more to do with the irrational exuberance for the future of Austin as opposed to current conditions," Heimsath said. "There seems to be a disconnect between what's actually happening in the recovery and these unbelievable increases." If higher property values translate into higher taxes, Heimsath said some building projects could suddenly become unfeasible and the construction industry could "grind to a halt." Property owners still will be able to challenge their appraised values. It requires local appraisers to set property values at 95 percent of market value. The comptroller is charged with checking the work of local appraisers. When they fail to keep the taxable values near the market rate for two years in a row, state law penalizes public school districts. The state reduces aid to property-poor districts, and the tax money that wealthy districts must share with the state increases. "Our schools are going to be penalized if we don't do this," Cory said. There are seven school districts in Travis County. The taxable values in five of them are lagging behind the market. Those are Austin, Del Valle, Eanes, Lago Vista and Lake Travis. Austin is the largest. Its taxable value of $40.7 billion should be $45 billion, according to the comptroller. Lago Vista, however, faces a more immediate problem because, unlike the other school districts, this is the second year that its tax roll was less than the market. The school district already shares 39 percent of its tax money $3.8 million with property-poor districts. Unless the problem is fixed, Lago Vista would be forced to share an additional $800,000. Cory said he plans to appeal the Lago Vista values because he thinks that the comptroller's study overvalued the thousands of vacant lots in that lake resort district. He has no hope of appeal for Austin, Eanes, Lake Travis and Del Valle because there are plenty of sales, particularly for commercial property and apartments, to confirm higher appraisals. "The market is very easy to define," Cory said. "When we have this many sales, that is the market, and you can't ignore it." Debi Wehmeier, president of the Austin Apartment Association, said taxes already represent 60 percent of operating expenses for a typical apartment complex. "Owners are already shocked at the taxes in Austin," she said. "They'll be a whole lot of people fighting their appraisals." With occupancy rates approaching 95 percent, the apartment market is recovering, but Wehmeier said rents are rising slowly and remain below 2000 levels. Higher taxes would only add to the pressure on rents, she predicted. She acknowledged that some apartment complexes sold last year for more than their taxable value. She said the buyers are placing bets that the recovery will continue but noted, "This recovery is very slow." Susana Almanza, director of the East Austin group People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources, said she is not surprised by the higher appraisals. She cited a small home in East Austin, 990 square feet, that recently sold for $325,000. Families that cannot afford higher taxes on higher appraisals are moving to the suburbs and smaller towns near Austin. She said East Austin is losing the tradition of one generation passing its home to the next. "When the elderly pass on, it's hard to pass their legacy to their children," she said.
There is no state income tax NOW, however bastardos in Austin are working to correct that and the sales tax deduction may be rescinded at the end of 2006.
Uro, check out Canyon Lake. I have a feeling it will be fitting for you and your wife. My second mother (that's what I call her) tried to retire down there and found herself doing residential and now commercial real estate. She can provide you with realistic figures. If you venture down this way, drop me a line and I'll pick up the beer.
yes, CL area is very nice. ......and Uro, you better not come to TX and not let us buy you a beer or two!
I can see it now: Uro posts a long article on TexasRealEstateChat.com titled "How Not To Buy Texas Real Estate".
LOL! Include me in the free beer tour of Texas. I can show you my uncle's 400 acre ranch, close to Cindy Sheehan's favorite hangout.
Funny that this came up. I'm actually typing this from Austin where my girlfriend and I came to check it out as a possible place to live. We're both from Southern CA and can't afford sh*t, and we both make good money. I've only been here a few hours so far, but I miss CA already. From what I've seen so far though, Austin is a really neat place. I can give more impressions once I've been here for a few days.
Uro, make it New B./Gruene, man....we can joint venture a tube rental/ campground where the property hits the river, and borrow enough longhorns from my brother, to go with the ag exemption! I don't think wild turkeys or Wild Turkey will do it.... Parasailing on Canyon Lake? Sure! SA down the road, Austin up the road.....it's nice Simpson Racing Products are there.....new helments every year!
Yea, from LA to Austin you'd better downshift about two gears! LOL! Look up Jesse Dayton, he has a foot in both worlds, to explain....
