Majority of Property Owners Winning Revaluation Appeals

Wake County property owners who appealed the new values placed on their homes, land and businesses last year are winning their cases more often than not, officials said Tuesday.

County officials have heard 12,184 of the 28,867 appeals filed by the Jan. 1 deadline, and values in 7,291 of the cases heard so far have resulted in adjustments, said Ken McArtor, Wake County's appraisal manager.

Most of the adjustments have resulted in lower property valuations, although a few appeals backfired for the property owners and ended in even higher valuations, he said.

The adjustments have cut about $500 million from the overall assessed value of the properties involved in the appeals so far, McArtor said.

The appeals process followed the county's first property revaluation in eight years. Average property values jumped 43 percent from 2000 levels, with higher increases seen inside the Interstate 440 Beltline and several suburbs.

The Wake County Board of Commissioners voted last month to set a target tax rate of 53 cents per $100 of assessed value for the fiscal 2009 budget so the county wouldn't receive a windfall from the higher property values.