Overall home values in Williamson County decline — what it may mean for your property taxes

Alvin Lankford, WCAD chief appraiser, said this is the first decline in valuations the county has seen in 23 years, following record valuations last year. This follows a record high seen in 2022, where residential values had a drastic increase of more than 45%.

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GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — The Williamson Central Appraisal District released its appraisal valuation notices last week. The overall average was that homes were appraised roughly 12% less than they were in January 2022.

Alvin Lankford, WCAD chief appraiser, said this is the first overall decline in valuations he's seen in the county in 23 years, following record valuations last year.

In 2022, residential values had a drastic increase of more than 45%.

"So, in the 23 years I've been here, I've seen in the last two years a record increase and record decrease," Lankford said.

Lankford said prices and interest rates started to level out in the middle of 2022, which has carried into 2023.

Just because property or home values are lower does not mean owners will save money when it comes time to pay their property taxes.

Lankford said the assessed value of a home cannot go up by more than 10%, but market values do not have that same cap.

Lankford said the deadline to protest a property's value is open until May 15.

Williamson County is expected to announce hearings for setting local tax rates soon, WCAD said in a press release.