Assessed Values Rise Sharply For Homes

RISON - County Assessor Barbara Reaves said she expects the Cleveland County Board of Equalization to have a busy season this year after many homeowners in the county saw the assessed value of their property double with the latest assessment completed this year.Property owners were notified via letter earlier this month about the new appraisals. Reaves said many homeowners saw their appraised values go up by double or even more. As a result, she said she has been on the receiving end of several angry phone calls.“It’s hard for me to believe that it went up this much,” said Reaves, noting that the appraised value on her own home doubled as well.Typically, the assessed value of homeowner’s property has a direct bearing on the property taxes: the higher the value, the higher the taxes. However, Reaves pointed out that a higher property value does not necessarily mean higher property taxes.  There are state laws in place that limit the annual increase in property taxes on homestead (a person’s dwelling) to no more than 5 percent, and in some cases, the property value can be frozen if the homeowner is 65 or older, or is disabled.In addition, Reaves said the state raised the homestead deduction on property taxes to $425 beginning this year.State law requires counties to reappraise property values every five years, or every three years if that county is seeing significant growth. Reaves said a third-party contractor, Delta Mass Appraisals, conducted the appraisals for Cleveland County.The reappraisal conducted earlier this year is the first in Cleveland County since 2019, so the appraised values reflect the cumulative change in values over the past five years. The appraised values that homeowners received this month will not be reflected on property taxes until the 2024 property taxes are paid next year.While the state has a minimum value per square foot, Reaves said other factors are considered as...