Homeowners in Union County might want to brace themselves for potential sticker shock as the Tax Administration office has recently completed a property reappraisal process, sending out updated property value notices today. The county-wide reassessment, an endeavor driven by North Carolina state law, seeks to align property taxes with the current market conditions, which have seen a substantial increase since the last appraisal in 2021.
The man behind the numbers, Vann Harrell, Union County's Tax Administrator, explained, "For over a year, our Tax team has worked diligently on the reappraisal, which ensures each property's assessed value accurately reflects its estimated fair market value," as stated in a Union County announcement. With professional appraisers on the task, property characteristics, sales comparisons, and recent improvements were taken into account, to deliver new values as of January 1. Nevertheless, these figures are not the final say on tax bills, those numbers will arrive only after the Board of Commissioners and local officials set tax rates come June.
Bear in mind, however, that these new assessments may herald a surge in property taxes down the line, thanks to the approximate 60% increase in total valuation. This uptick isn't uniform—some homeowners will notice a steeper rise in property values, while others may find their increase to be less intense. "The total valuation increase will affect all real property in the County," Harrell added, emphasizing that property-specific results will vary, with residential properties sporting a median increase around the 60% mark, according to Union County.
More than just an administrative update, this revaluation process is a reflection of active real estate market trends over the past few years. The stated goal is Ensuring equity across the county's tax base. As Harrell remarked, the determined effort by the tax team has been geared towards "a fair, transparent process based on current real estate market data," according to Union County.
