CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Home values are up an average of 60% since 2019, according to the Mecklenburg County Assessor's Office.
The county is sending out the new values of properties to all property owners in early 2023. Appraisers must reevaluate every property value in the county every four years.
The county assessor said most properties will see an increase.
The spike in values is partly due to the homes being built or flipped across Mecklenburg County. The developments are changing neighborhood landscapes each year.
For example, Ashley Park in West Charlotte has eight houses listed on Zillow. A newly built home is going for $700,000. According to the real estate website, the homes next to it are worth less than half that.
Hunter Moll, CEO of The Buildery and a realtor, explained that a hot market means good business for people in his industry.
"I feel like a kid in a candy store,” Moll told WCNC Charlotte.
However, higher property values also lead to higher property taxes.
"Higher interest rates, higher values, that’s higher payments and now you throw higher property taxes in there, it’s definitely going to squeeze affordability,” Moll added.
Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Braxton Winston said in Monday's city council meeting that lower-income families that bought their homes decades ago are some of the most affected.
“It’s a time period a lot of our folks have certain fears over, you know, when they see the tax value of their home can change 60%," Winston said.
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.
While many are happy to see value added to their assets, others fear being priced out.
"Gentrification doesn’t occur because the assessor is raising values," County Assessor Ken Joyner said. "All it does is bring it to the forefront where everybody sees what is happening in those neighborhoods.”
The county will start mailing out property values in January.
If there’s an error or if a property owner disagrees with their value, they can file a free review in the mail, in person, or online.
The review form has been simplified to a few questions, but it may take the county up to four weeks to respond. The form will be live online once property values are sent out.
Once new values are mailed out, property tax bills based on those numbers will be sent out in July.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.