Mecklenburg County property revaluation notices will be sent later than expected

Mecklenburg County taxpayers will receive notices detailing their new real estate assessed value later than expected, according to county assessor Ken Joyner.

Revaluation notices were expected to be sent in the mail by late January. But that time frame has been pushed back to early- to mid-March, Joyner said Monday during a presentation to the Cornelius board of commissioners.

Joyner cited the changing real estate market, and the need to give his staff enough time to review all sales through the end of the year, as reasons for the delay.

Last week, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another 0.75% to combat inflation. The move sent mortgage rates above 7%, a move that could hurt some home buyers, USA TODAY and other media outlets reported.

By next spring, Mecklenburg county commissioners, Charlotte City Council and surrounding towns like Cornelius will use the new appraisal information to help set tax rates that go into determining property tax bills.

Your Mecklenburg property values are rising. That’ll factor into your next tax bill

Property owners can expect to see large increases in assessed value from the last revaluation in 2019. Through October, the median value of real estate in Mecklenburg has increased 50% over the past four years, Joyner told Cornelius commissioners.

That includes a median increase of 57% of residential property and 39% in commercial property.

But just because values are going up doesn’t necessarily mean your property tax bill also will go up next year.

That’s because tax rates set by local governments could be lowered in favor of a revenue-neutral rate — the rate needed to bring in the same amount of money as the previous year’s budget. By law, local governments are required to publish the revenue neutral rate, but can choose to set it higher.