Montgomery County rivals Fort Bend as the premier Houston-era suburb. Playing host to Conroe, the Woodlands, and more, Montgomery County has attracted Houstonians, people from other suburbs, and plenty of transplants. With growing wealth and a swelling population, the demand for property is at a fever pitch, which means that the Montgomery Central Appraisal District (MCAD) is looking to take advantage of people’s wallets.

The people of Montgomery County have embraced the property tax appeal in numbers not seen except for the likes of Travis, Fort Bend, and Collin Counties. When it was announced that MCAD was handing out a residential increase of 9% and a commercial rise of 13.4%, the taxpayers of the county hit back in force. O’Connor will explore how effective this first stage of appeals has been and how these wins can be improved upon in the coming weeks and months.

Montgomery County Protests Slice 2% From Home Values

Around 28% of all properties in Montgomery County were protested in 2023, a number that is steadily rising, mostly in response to aggression by MCAD. Residential taxable value increased by 9% to a total of $94.12 billion in 2025. In response, the first batch of property tax protests managed to reverse some of these gains, reducing them by 2% to $92.23 billion. Homes worth between $250,000 and $500,000 were the biggest source of total value and earned a cut of 1.5%. Homes worth $500,000 to $750,000 were in second place, notching a reduction of 2.3%. The largest homes, those worth over $1.5 Million, managed to cut their impressive taxable value by 4.3%.

When broken down by size, we can see how valuable property is becoming in Montgomery County. Homes between 2,000 and 3,999 square feet made up $53.06 billion of the total value, meaning most homes were a little above the average size. With a reduction of 2.1%, these homes managed to save the most value by raw numbers. Homes under 2,000 square feet were in the No. 2 spot with $20.34 billion in total value, though they managed only a reduction of 0.7%. Despite Montgomery County’s reputation for McMansions, only $1.46 billion in value was tied up in massive homes, which managed a reduction of 3.3%.

Montgomery County has become a destination for those fleeing other suburbs and Houston itself in the past few decades. According to MCAD, 54% of all residential value was constructed between 2001 and 2020, while 15% is new construction. These categories saved 2.3% and 0.7% respectively, slashing the overall total by over $1 billion. Making up 23% of all value, homes built between 1981 and 2000 got a solid cut of 2.4%. Montgomery County is a vibrant and changing community, with virtually every bit of value being built between 1981 and 2025.

Commercial Properties get Back 4.3% in Value

Like Fort Bend County, despite having a reputation as a residential and suburban location, Montgomery County is experiencing a boom in business property. According to MCAD, this value skyrocketed by 13.4% in 2025, jumping to $22.16 billion. As most commercial properties are protested anyway as part of cost-savings procedures, this number was quickly challenged and slashed by 4.3%, bringing the total down to $21.40 billion. Most of the value is reserved in businesses worth over $5 million, which constitutes $14.13 billion in value. These large businesses saved big with 5.4% in reductions. Those worth between $1 million and $5 million nabbed a value reduction total of 3.1%.

The most valuable commercial property type, according to MCAD, was apartments with $6.75 billion in value. This was quickly protested down 6% to $6.34 billion. Raw land was rated in second place with $4.77 billion, though no overall reduction could be achieved. Hotels were the smallest category by value but landed an impressive 10.4% reduction. Hotels had previously seen their appraised value shoot to the moon with an increase of 76.9%, so this break was welcome news.

Just like homes, when it comes to commercial property, most value was built in the past few decades. 43% of all value was built between 2001 and 2020, which also managed a reduction of 5.4%. New construction already accounts for 10% of all business value and is growing every year. This recent construction saw its value jump an insane 48.3% in 2025, before being chopped down a bit by 8.5%. It is hard to determine how much of new construction’s value is legit and how much exists only in MCAD’s head. 17% of value was built between 1981 and 2000, which garnered a savings of 6.4%.

Montgomery County Apartments Reclaim 6% of Value Thanks to Appeals

Like most suburban areas, the most valuable commercial property in Montgomery County is apartments. MCAD estimated that apartments rose in value by 16.5% in 2025, bringing their total to $6.67 billion. Informal appeals managed to lower this number by 6% rather quickly, with more to come. When broken down by age of construction, Montgomery County apartments follow the same pattern as houses. 60% of value was built between 2001 and 2020, while 20% was the result of new construction. These categories saved 5% and 8.9% respectively. 16% of value originates from 1981 to 2000, and these apartments were able to save 6.5% thanks to appeals.

MCAD divides apartments into the categories of subsidized apartments, garden apartments, and high-rises. Garden apartments accounted for the lion’s share of value with $4.63 billion. Garden apartments managed to land a reduction of 5.5%, making the biggest impact on overall value. High-rise apartments were in second place and were able to reduce their taxable value by 7.5%. Subsidized housing was only a fraction of the total value but still managed to save 4.6%.

Offices Boast a Wide Range of Reductions

Offices are the second-most valuable commercial property type according to MCAD, worth a combined $3.86 billion. This number was protested down 6.3% to $3.61 billion at the start of the appeal season. Like everything else, the majority of office value was constructed between 2001 and 2020, around 63% of it. 26% was built between 1981 and 2000. These two categories saw their initial values cut by 6.2% and 6.7% respectively. Unlike other properties we have examined, new construction only accounted for 4% of all office value and this number was still reduced by 3.1%.

Office buildings are categorized as medical offices, low-rises, and high-rises. High-rise offices took the top spot with $1.64 billion, before being reduced 7.3% to $1.52 billion. Medical offices were easily No. 2 in value and managed to get a reduction of 4.3%. Low-rise offices were in third place and were also able to land a solid reduction of 6.5%.

Strip Centers Headline Retail Savings in Montgomery County

Outside of raw land, the value of retail property rose the least in 2025, only going up by 9.8%. While it is far behind the other categories, it is still a major number and much higher than what is typical. This was evident when the spike was cut in half thanks to early property tax appeals. The 4.5% reduction in the total represented a reduction of $135.86 million. Over half of all retail value was built between 2001 and 2020, keeping the trend alive. A reduction of 5.4% to this category is the primary reason why the total was pared down. Those retail spaces built between 1981 and 2000 were in second place in value and saw a reduction of 3.6%. New construction constituted 8% of all value while also receiving a reduction of 2.2%.

When divided into subtypes, the retail property of Montgomery County is split pretty evenly. Strip centers were the clear No. 1, constituting $950.65 million of the $3.01 billion total. The other categories represent roughly the same share of the overall total, with neighborhood shopping centers being the most valuable of the group. Strip centers were reduced by 5.5% thanks to tax appeals, community shopping centers by 6.5%, and neighborhood shopping centers by 2.9%. Malls saw the largest reduction with 6.8%, while single-tenant retail achieved no reductions.

Montgomery County Warehouses Save 5.9%

Warehouses across Montgomery County saw taxable value hikes across the board, with the total value for all of them combined rising 14%. Property tax protests hit back in a big way, cutting 5.9% from the rolls so far. Like all other properties, over half of all value for warehouses was constructed between 2001 and 2020. 20% was built from 1981 to 2000, while 18% was created from new construction. These categories saved 3.7%, 4.8%, and 12% respectively. Older warehouses managed to save a surprising 9.1% on their taxable value.

Warehouses are divided into four categories by MCAD. The largest category, generic warehouses, was unable to achieve any cuts. The No.2 subtype of mini warehouses landed a reduction of 12%. Office warehouses notched 5.3% in savings, while prefabs won a staggering reduction of 26%.

Montgomery County – a Good First Step

Montgomery County has already logged some great reductions and 2025 is looking to be a great year for besting MCAD. These numbers are also only preliminary. Currently, only informal appeals to MCAD are logged, along with a few other outliers. Informal appeals typically make up half of all property tax protests. The second half is formal hearings before the appraisal review board (ARB). The formal phase is reached when an informal appeal is rejected, or the proposed settlement is below what a taxpayer finds acceptable. Historically, Montgomery County’s property tax protest resolutions are divided evenly between informal and formal appeals.

With nearly one-third of property being protested in Montgomery County, it seems that the stage is being set to balance the books in favor of the taxpayer. A decade ago, property tax appeals were rare across Texas. Thanks to aggressive taxation and climbing values, it is becoming commonplace, especially in suburban areas. Hopefully, Montgomery County will join Fort Bend County soon in having an appeal tradition that makes huge cuts to the rolls every year.

We at O’Connor are a Houston-based firm that specializes in fighting property taxes. As one of the largest such firms in the nation, we have a roster of experts, researchers, attorneys, and more that are ready to assist you with every step of the process. From informal appeals to ARB hearings, to even lawsuits against MCAD, we at O’Connor are ready to support you. There is no cost to join, and we will protest your taxes every year, allowing you to build on every victory to increase your savings. You will only pay if we lower your taxes, making this a no-risk proposition.