05/16/2016 HCAD Mails Property Value Notices

Harris County Appraisal District News Release

For additional information contact Jack Barnett, Communications Officer, 713-957-5663

May 16, 2016

Harris County Appraisal District
Mails Property Value Notices
Houston —The Harris County Appraisal District has mailed property value notices to
most residential property owners and is following with commercial and industrial value
notices.

“While generally we are seeing Harris County residential and commercial property
values continuing to increase again this year, we also are seeing a greater number of
properties that are not increasing in value this year,” said Sands Stiefer, chief appraiser.
“This is much more of a mixed market this year, whereas we have had very definite up
or down directions in the past eight years because of the recession and the recovery. Many
property owners will likely be looking at value increases this year, but many property
owners will not have a value increase,” Stiefer said. “Even with the job losses from the
energy sector, we are still seeing job growth overall. What property owners should
understand is that we are looking at the property value for January 1 and basing our
appraisal on the prices property sold for in 2015. ”

Stiefer explained that the appraisal district is required by law to appraise all property at
100 percent of market value as of January 1.
Specific information for the property types is below, and market area maps are
available on the HCAD web site at www.hcad.org under “2016 Reappraisal Values.”
Individual property values also are available at www.hcad.org .

Residential:
While the sales volume has dipped slightly, property values continue to increase. The
sales volume for single family residential properties declined 2.4 percent to 73,724 homes
in 2015, compared with 75,535 homes in 2014, according to the Houston Association of
Realtors. However, the value of residential property in the county continues to increase,
although at a slower rate than the past several years. Much of the gain in prices came from
new construction. Approximately 63 percent of the homes in the county increased in value
since last year.

The housing market remains strong although the supply of available homes has
increased slightly to an approximately 3.2 month supply. Last year, the supply of homes
hovered at approximately a 2.6 month supply from March of 2014 through March of 2015.
A 6 month supply is considered a balanced market.

Year-over-year, the median sales price of single-family homes – the figure at which
half the homes sold for more and half for less – rose 6.5 percent to $212,000 in 2015,
compared with $199,000 in 2014 according to the Houston Association of Realtors.
Homes in all price ranges saw value increases, but homes priced between $80,000 and
$250,000 saw the biggest increase. Homes in that price range saw an approximately 7-8
percent increase while those homes above $250,000 only had increases of approximately 4
percent. The highest volume of sales is occurring primarily on the east side of the county,
which is a reversal from the past two years.

Another sign of the county’s solid economy, despite problems in the energy sector, is
that foreclosures recorded by the appraisal district have continued to fall. Foreclosures
dropped to 1,882 in 2015 from 2,636 foreclosures in 2014, compared with 4,946
foreclosures in 2013.

Exemptions can provide significant relief for some taxpayers by reducing taxable value
and tax levies. Residence homestead exemptions apply to most owner-occupied homes in
Texas and are the most common type of exemption. Property owners should check their
account online to make sure that all exemptions to which they are entitled are in place.

Commercial:
Overall, approximately 56 percent of the commercial property accounts that have
received value notices have had value increases; approximately 25 percent have not
changed and 20 percent have decreased. Commercial property includes apartments, office
buildings, retail, medical offices, hospitals, hotels and warehouses.
Office buildings had a year of adjustment in 2015 due to the Houston economy. While
office building sales declined to 26 in 2015 from 39 in 2014, the price per square foot
increased, as did the vacancy rate and the average asking rental rate. As companies adjust
to the recent economic changes, the aggressive construction activity experienced over the
past few years is expected to slow, however improving market conditions, strong trade
sectors and the county’s population growth indicates a continuing upward trend in property
values.

Houston’s demand for apartments continues to be high because of significant
population growth, causing rents to continue to rise another 5 percent. New apartment
construction is highly concentrated in the Inner Loop and along I-10 West in the Energy
Corridor towards Katy.

The retail market appeared to be the strongest sector during 2015 because of population
growth, and supermarkets are expected to dominate new retail construction. Occupancy
rates are holding at record high levels at well above 90 percent.
Warehouses are expected to continue to grow although it will be at a slower pace.
Rental rates increased just over 10 percent while occupancy rates remained high at 95
percent. Increased rental rates, lower vacancies and a resulting increase in sales price per
square foot had the county’s warehouse sector ending the year on a positive note. The
Houston industrial warehouse sector is expected to see a moderate increase in value
through 2016.

The demand for vacant land has slowed, compared with the past two years. The
strongest demand is concentrated in or near the Central Business District, Galleria, West
Houston and Northwest Houston and East Harris County.

Property owners who receive their notices may begin the protest process immediately.
While there is a protest form included in the packet, one of the fastest and easiest ways to
do this is to use the district’s online iFile program at www.hcad.org/iFile.

About HCAD
The Harris County Appraisal District is a political subdivision of the State of Texas
established in 1980 for the purpose of discovering and appraising property for ad valorem
tax purposes for each taxing unit within the boundaries of the district. The district has
more than 1.7 million parcels of property to assess each year with a total market value of
approximately $526 billion. The appraisal district in Harris County is the largest in Texas,
serving approximately 500 taxing units, and one of the largest appraisal districts in the
United States. For further information, visit www.hcad.org.