Dallas County homeowners in Wylie, Wilmer and Lewisville and those who pay taxes to Dallas Independent School District were some of those hit hardest by spikes in market value this year, according to preliminary data released last week by the Dallas Central Appraisal District.
Dallas County homeowners and many others in North Texas hoping for tax relief have until Wednesday to protest their valuations from local appraisal districts.
The county’s overall residential market values have gone up 15.56% since last year — up from the 12.67% increase in residential market values DCAD reported from 2022 to 2023. When appraisal notices went out last month, some saw their market values jump by as much as 60%.
Deputy Chief Appraiser Cheryl Jordan said the numbers are a reflection of the rapidly growing North Texas housing market.
“You've got more people trying to get homes than there are,” she said. “Now, interest rates went up a couple of years ago, and that slowed the market. It still didn't drive values down.”
MORE | Denton appraisal district expects 100,000 property owners to challenge valuations by deadline
Market values don’t always directly increase how much homeowners pay in property taxes. The state homestead exemption caps a homeowner’s increase in appraised value at 10% yearly. Texas voters also approved a $100,000 homestead exemption on school district taxes that provides additional relief, up from $40,000 last year. Veterans, disabled homeowners and those 65 and older can also get specific exemptions.
If homeowners are still dissatisfied, that’s what the protest process exists for, Jordan said.
“But we also ask that you do some diligence, do a little homework,” she said. “Why do you think our value’s wrong? You can’t just say, ‘I think it’s wrong.’ You should have some facts yourself to base that on.”
As of last Friday, DCAD received 67,451 residential protests, she said. The district received more than 82,412 residential protests by that time last year.
White Rock Lake-area resident Elaine Moock does her homework, weighing her home’s value against her neighbors’ and residents in other neighborhoods every year she protests — but the process is still frustrating, she said. She’s even listened in on her friends’ appraisal review hearings over the phone and feels the approach to appraisal is inconsistent.
“It depends on the person you get,” she said. “One person will say it doesn't matter how many bathrooms or bedrooms you have, it's the square footage. The other one will tell you, ‘oh, it matters that you have an extra bathroom.’”
Moock’s market value is up 20.9% from last year. The land value, which is included in the market total, is more than eight times higher than it was when she and her husband first moved into their home in 2005.
Compared to other homes in similarly desirable neighborhoods, she said that feels unfair.
“We have to have a place to live,” Moock said. “And we moved to this neighborhood because we love it, and we don't want to be forced to move. If we move, we'd like it to be a choice.”
The family-run Toler Company puts on a free workshop at the Wesley-Rankin Community Center primarily serving lower-income homeowners who aren’t as experienced in protesting property values. Tax consultant Will Toler said the company expects to serve about 1,000 clients by the end of May.
About half the workshop’s clients, mostly from areas south of Interstate 30, inherited homes from grandparents or parents and are far less likely to protest.
“In those cases, it's been the family home for 60, 70, 80 years,” Toler said. “And they've never filed a property tax protest. They've never turned in a homestead application. They've just paid the bill and moved on.”
That struggle is worse for residents in areas like West Dallas, which has seen some of the fastest market value growth and gentrification. Toler helped draft up a protest report for one man’s home just south of the Trinity River with a 2024 market value more than five times what it was in 2019, despite his ceiling and other parts of the home in various states of disrepair.
“It's not as simple as just filling out the form and turning it in,” he said. “They need to clarify some documents. They need to get some deeds corrected. They need assistance in qualifying, and the assistance could be the difference between them keeping their homes or losing their home.”
The protest deadlines for Collin and Denton counties are also May 15. Tarrant Appraisal District extended the county's protest deadline to May 24.
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