By the end of September 2023, property owners who were successful in challenging their 2023 values and filing property tax appeals had saved close to $131 million.
The Fort Bend Central Appraisal District annually provides market values for real estate and business personal property to owners in Fort Bend County. Regardless of how much the value goes up or down, business and individuals have the right under the law to argue against the county assessment. On the first and most recent tax rolls provided by Ford Bend Central Appraisal District, O’Connor has derived the following information.
We predicted an estimate of final values that would settle by looking at the results from previous years as displayed on Fort Bend County Property Tax Trends. Property owners in Fort Bend County should be absolved of paying $131 million in property taxes in 2023, based on O’Connor analysis. These final estimates revealed that initial predicted reductions of $120 million based on historical tax savings has been exceeded for 2023.
Fort Bend County homeowners have saved nearly $27.9 million on their completed property tax protests for 2023, the most of any property category. The Fort Bend Central Appraisal District has lowered the assessments of 33,444 residences in response to final tax objections for 2023. A $30,980 average drop in assessed value results in a $836 average savings in property taxes, based on a 2.7% tax rate and excluding homestead exemptions.
By utilizing a 2.7% tax rate, the confirmed 2023 property taxes for apartment complexes were able to save $24 million. Apartment owners had the second-largest total savings on property taxes for 2023 out of all property types in Fort Bend County, as well as the biggest savings per tax protest among commercial property owners. Following the settlement of complaints against apartment complexes for 2023, the initial property assessments of $4.66 billion were decreased to $3.76 billion, resulting in a considerable reduction of $893 million in tax assessments.
Fort Bend County’s land and other property type has finished 2,342 hearings, resulting in a $918 million initial valuation being reduced to $488 million, which represented the highest percentage reduction of any type of commercial property achieved in 2023 at a startling 46.8%. Based on a 2.7% tax rate, the owners will save $4,956 per tax parcel or over $11.6 million in total taxes this year!
The completed protests that lead to a decrease resulted in a reduction of 25.2% for hotel property taxes in Fort Bend County. This data encompasses the outcomes of 53 hearings for hotel property tax cases, resulting in an average tax savings of $37,935 per hotel. These reductions were resolved for the tax year of 2023.
Office building owners in Fort Bend County successfully appealed their property taxes for 896 office buildings this year, resulting in a collective savings of $19.2 million. The total valuation of office real estate for 2023 was reduced from $2.86 billion to $2.14 billion, a decrease of $713 million. In cases where office tax protests lead to a decrease, a savings of 24.9% is applied. Taking into account a tax rate of 2.7%, this translates to an average property tax savings of $21,485 per account.
In Fort Bend County, property owners have resolved 38,724 tax appeals this year, lowering the initial assessed value from $ 31 billion to $26 billion, or an average decrease of $9 million per property. The average tax savings per objected-to property, including both residential and commercial properties, is $245,565.
The apartments listed below have the greatest declines in their 2023 property tax assessments:
- The owner of the Cendana District West Apartments reduced their original property tax assessment from $86.8 million to $48.4 million, a $38.3 million reduction, saving them $10.3 million in 2023. Property taxes on this apartment complex were cut by 44%.
- The property tax assessment associated with Keegan at Mission Glen, which is located at 17000 Bissonnet St. in Richmond, Texas, was lowered by $30.1 million from $77 million to $47 million by the building’s owner. Based on a 2.7% tax rate, this tax assessment decrease lowers their property taxes for a complex constructed in 2022 by $813 million.
- The owners of Telfair Lofts managed to reduce their property taxes by 31%. The 2023 property tax assessment was originally valued at $85 million, but it was lowered to $58 million, resulting in a decrease of $27 million. Telfair Lofts is a four-story building with 317 units located at 7500 Branford PL in Sugar Land, Texas. It was built in 2014.
The owners of Telfair Lofts managed to reduce their property taxes by 31%. The 2023 property tax assessment was originally valued at $85 million, but it was lowered to $58 million, resulting in a decrease of $27 million. Telfair Lofts is a four-story building with 317 units located at 7500 Branford PL in Sugar Land, Texas. It was built in 2014.
This article’s analysis is based on a contrast between Fort Bend County’s post-hearing 2023 tax assessments and Fort Bend County’s initial 2023 tax year appraisal values. This report does not include the properties that were appealed without a decrease.
Over 50% of property tax appeals in Fort Bend County lead to a decrease annually. Property owners are strongly recommended to thoroughly examine their yearly property tax assessments and submit an appeal each year.
