Wake County NC Property Tax Value vs. Market Value
Wake County, North Carolina has an amazing amount of information available to the public through the County tax website, and the Recorder of Deeds office.
Property Buyers and Sellers can access photos, notes on building permits, tax bills, deed history, subdivision or area sales, structure information, and a map of the property, including zoning, environmental features, and aerial photography.
http://www.wakegov.com/tax/default.htm
Many Buyers from out of state are confused by the lack of correlation between "Tax Value," and the Listing Price of a property for sale. Basically, there is nearly no correlation between the two in Wake County, and much of North Carolina. In many regions of the USA, "Tax Values" are adjusted per recent sales activity. Ergo, Tax Value correlates closely to property value.
In Wake County, Tax Values are re-assessed at eight year intervals, with an optional "adjustment" at the 4 year mark of that cycle. The adjustment is not aggressively used to bring Tax Values "into line" with current market conditions.
The next Wake County complete re-assessment is scheduled for 2008, and Tax Values will likely change dramatically to the upside.
Separate from the Tax Value is the "Property Tax Rate." This is the percentage taken against the Tax Value to determine the property tax due.
In Wake County municipalities, the rate is in the 1% to 1.25% range, i.e., on a home with a $275,000 Tax Value, the owner may pay 1%, or $2750+/-, property tax, including municipality and county taxes.
The Market Value of that home may be $275,000 or $500,000, or whatever, partially depending on whether it existed prior to the last re-assessment.
The Wake County Property Tax Rate for a home is .64%. This includes School taxes and a recycling fee, and the Town of Cary is .32% on my home, yielding a total property tax rate of .96%.
Tax Rates will likely fall after the 2008 reassessment. The result will not be revenue-neutral for local government. Property owners will pay slightly more property tax, because the drop it rates will not be proportionate to the increase in assessed values, on average.
When you see a Wake County real estate advertisement trumpeting, "BELOW TAX VALUE!," you now know that claim is irrelevant for interpreting the market value of the property.
It may the Seller doesn't understand. Or it may just be a marketing ploy to attract Buyers who don't understand the local property tax system.
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