Durham County residents will learn their new property values starting this Friday.
The mailings reflect the county’s latest reappraisal of property values.
In a presentation to the Durham County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 10, Tax Administrator Keyar Doyle said property values have ballooned in Durham in recent years.
“Home sale prices have increased drastically since our last reappraisal in 2019,” Doyle said.
The median sale price in Durham County was $239,500 in January of 2019; as of December 2024, it was $416,000.
As property values have soared, the gap has grown between market value for Durham homes and their assessed value. According to the presentation, the average home in Durham County is assessed for less than two-thirds of what it could fetch on the market. That’s a bigger gap than in any other Triangle county.
Reappraisals are intended to even out the tax burden across the county.
North Carolina counties are required by law to conduct reappraisals at least every eight years, but many, including Durham, follow a four-year cycle. Durham is behind its usual schedule. Its last reappraisal took place five years ago, but the pandemic, a cyber-attack, and new software caused delays, Doyle said.
The shorter cycle has its advantages, Doyle said.
“[Property owners] are not going through long waits, and forgetting the process,” he said “Repetition helps the taxpayers and the property owners as well.”
Wake County finalized its reappraisal in January 2024, which led to a combined 51% increase in value for residential and commercial properties. Chatham and Orange counties are conducting their reappraisals this year.
Durham County has the second highest property tax rate of the four Triangle counties. Durham County’s property tax rate of $0.7987 per $100 of assessed value is second only to Orange County’s rate of $0.8629. In Durham County, the owner of a $100,000 house pays $798.70 per year in property taxes. In Orange County, the tax bill for a $100,000 property is $862.90.
Property owners who live within the Durham city limits pay both county and city property taxes. For city residents, the combined annual city-county tax rate is $1,394.90 for a home valued at $100,000.
If Durham County property owners disagree with their new assessed values, they can file an appeal with the Board of Equalization and Review and schedule a hearing. Appeal applications are due by June 16 at 5 p.m.
People often appeal when they see large increases in their tax bills. But affordability alone isn’t enough, Doyle said. Typically, the key to a successful appeal is whether a property is under- or over-valued, based on comparable value. The county provides a comparison tool owners can use.
Since appraisers do not enter properties, they can miss important characteristics of a home’s interior affecting its value. “I say all the time – I don’t want 126,000 appeals. … That would overrun the office,” Doyle said.
“But, in all honesty, appeals are good, because they help us correct some of that data we cannot attain.”
The county offers three tax relief programs for elderly or disabled property owners, which each have an application deadline of June 1. Also, Durham Social Services offers a Low-Income Homeowners Relief Program.
Property owners can schedule one-on-one informational meetings with appraisers, taking place from March 17 to April 12 across Durham, according to a recent press release.
The county commissioners expressed gratitude for the tax administration’s work.
“It’s not the most comfortable thing for the community to hear, but the transparency you consistently provide is really reassuring,” Commissioner Mike Lee told Doyle.
Durham’s next reappraisal is expected to take place in 2029.
Lauren Pehlivanian
