Most Wake Homeowners Can Expect Property Tax Increase After Revaluation

"As a property owner I'm not looking forward to it at all. I dread it," says Raleigh homeowner Jeanne Jolly.

This week, 230,000 property owners across Wake County will learn how much the Revenue Department thinks their homes and businesses are now worth. That number will be used to calculate their property taxes.

Wake County Revenue Director Emmett Curl says the biggest increases will come in the west and northwest corridors inside the Beltline; far western Wake County, and the Swift Creek area.

"Just pure demand to be inside these areas have driven these values," says Curl.

The revaluation comes after eight years of the most rapid growth Wake County has ever seen.

Countywide, the revaluation is higher than the average home price increase since 1992. It is lower than the average price increase for condos, town homes and apartments.

Curl adds these new assessments can be challenged in hearings.

"Please understand, these are our best estimates of what these properties are selling for. That's why we're going through this hearing process, to find things that we may not be aware of," he says.

Jeanne Jolly says she challenged her last re-appraisal.

"It's a very realistic thing to do, and I'm sure that they will be ready for the phone calls," she says.

Wake County is ready for those calls, and will have 35 additional staffers on hand to help answer the calls. Most notices of assessment will be mailed by the end of the week. A phone number can be found on the letter to appeal the assessment, but the best way to appeal is to notify the Department of revenue by mail.