The property evaluations have gone out. Read’em and weep – or maybe not. The average market value did go up 8% overall (some more, some less), with land seeing the biggest hit. Properties with homesteads also saw proposed taxable values increased due to the homestead cap.

Pasture Land is trending at about 14% higher. This is because land continues to increase in value. In 2012, the Freestone County median sales price per acre was $1,968; in 2023 it was $9,130 in Freestone County. Statewide it is $9,583.

The homestead exemption cap has caught a lot of taxpayers off guard. It has a ceiling (cap) of 10% of the market value. The result is in an increase of 10% in the proposed taxable value over the previous (exemptions would reduce the amount). In the prior two years values increased by almost 50%, making the market values more than the prior years’ appraised value.

For example, if a property in 2021 had a market value of $100,000, but the value increased to $130,000 in 2022, the difference would be 30%, but the change is limited to 10% (the homestead cap). This result in the appraised value to be $110,000, $10,000 more than the prior year. This will become the norm until the market value and the appraised value level out to be the same.

State compression for school taxes is still in effect. The taxpayer pays whatever becomes the lowest amount in a given year until 2026.

For Non-homestead Real Property, the circuit breaker cap is 20% for property valued at $5 million or less. However, very few properties in Freestone County were impacted by this.

Since readers may be interested in Freestone Lake Club (previously Fairfield Lake State Park). It was valued at $103,350,054, a little over $350,000 of what Todd Interests paid with the increase due to improvements.

“I can only go by what the original investment was to access the market value. What was decided in court is not something I can consider,” indicated Chief Appraiser, Don Awalt. On August 13, 2023, the three panel commissioners determined the property to be worth $418.3 million.

Even at that, it should be a nice chunk of change for entities. Would the result be a domino effect with these entities’ rates for the taxpayer decreasing? Time will tell.

A big thanks to Freestone Central Appraiser, Don Awalt, for providing the overview.

Mary McDonald

Freelance Reporter

(Property Owners should TAKE NOTE of FCAD notice here.)