The San Antonio metro area home sales including multiple counties saw a slight increase of 1.2% from January 2022 to January 2023. Evaluation of sales specific to Nueces County indicates that the median sale price dropped from $265,000 to $229,500, about 13% down from January 2022.
The tax assessments for homes in Nueces County increased by 28.4% during the same period home values fell by 13%. This leaves a gap of 41% between the increase in value by Nueces County Appraisal District and the decline in median home prices calculated by O’Connor.
Nueces County home prices skyrocketed from a median of $265,000 in January 2022 to $300,000 in June 2022, before settling at $229,500 in January 2023. The January nadir was 23.5% below the peak of $300,000. The data was lumpy in late 2022; $265,000 median in December 2022, $229,500 median in January and $255,000 median in February 2023. However, Texas Tax Code is clear that tax assessments are to be based on the January 1 value (Tax Code 23.01).
The typical Nueces County home is over-assessed by 22.7% based on a study by O’Connor, that included 5,346 sales during January 2022 to March 2023. Sales were time adjusted to January 2023. Tax Code 23.013 (c) requires that: A sale of a comparable property must be appropriately adjusted for any change in the market value of the comparable property during the period between the date of the sale of the comparable property and the date as of which the market value of the subject property is to be determined.
Nueces County Appraisal District set the median home tax assessment for 2023 at $282,915, versus the median sales price of $229,500 for sales in January 2023. This gap indicates the median Nueces County home is over-assessed by 22.7%, almost one-quarter. Given the gap between market value and assessments, and the large amount of assessment increase, there will likely be a record level of property tax protests with Nueces County Appraisal District in 2023.
A whopping 94% of Nueces County homes are assessed over market value!
The Nueces County tax assessments are higher, relative to sales, than any other county reviewed to date. However, the excess taxes are second to Travis County, whose assessments appear to indicate excess taxation of $1,705, before protests, homestead exemptions and tax rate compression.
| County | Median Level of Assessment | Median Sales Price (1) | Median 2023 Tax Assessment | Extra Taxes Due to Over Assessment (2) |
| Brazoria | 111.8% | $280,000 | $333,830 | $1,453 |
| Bexar | 104.6% | $282,073 | $297,325 | $412 |
| Collin | 101.9% | $490,000 | $498,759 | $236 |
| Fort Bend | 108.1% | $370,040 | $402,442 | $875 |
| Galveston | 112.5% | $298,900 | $338,290 | $1,064 |
| Harris | 116.2% | $275,008 | $322,400 | $1,280 |
| Hays | 101.3% | $432,250 | $436,660 | $119 |
| Hidalgo | 107.4% | $200,000 | $210,346 | $279 |
| Lubbock | 97.7% | $235,000 | $229,814 | ($140) |
| Montgomery | 103.5% | $321,250 | $335,680 | $390 |
| Nueces | 122.7% | $229,500 | $282,915 | $1,442 |
| Travis | 111.8% | $500,000 | $563,156 | $1,705 |
| Webb | 101.7% | $201,450 | $205,688 | $114 |
| Williamson | 96.7% | $428,595 | $417,498 | ($300) |
| (1) Time adjusted sale price as of January 2023 |
| (2) Extra taxes based on 2.7% tax rate and before homestead exemption and tax rate compression, |
Nueces County homes valued over $1.5 million are seeing the highest rise in assessment, up a shocking 63.2%.
Homeowners in Nueces County with property between 4,000 and 5,999 sq. ft. are the hardest hit with 2023 assessment increases. Their value has soared by 35%.
Nueces County residential property built in 2001 and since has experienced the most significant assessment increase for 2023 with rising values up 32.6%.
Nueces County Appraisal District also generated substantial increases in tax assessments for commercial property. Assessment increases were 26.9% for hotels, 20.1% for apartments and 18.9% for warehouses.
The increases in commercial tax assessments are puzzling since commercial property values have plummeted since early 2022 due to cap rates and insurance premiums. Cap rates, which are used to convert net income into a value estimate have skyrocketed due to higher rates for the 10-year treasuries. The 10-year treasury rates rose from 1.76% in early January 2022 to 3.55% in early 2023. The rapid increase has caused transaction activity to plummet by 70 to 80%. Most sellers are on the sidelines since prices offered by buyers are off by 20 to 35%.
In summary, the increase in interest rates and insurance have caused commercial property values to plummet yet the tax assessments are up by 18.7% overall.
Nueces County Commercial Property 2023 Assessment % Increase by Property Type
| Property Type | 2022 Final Market Value | 2023 Notice Market Value | Increase% |
| Apartment | $2,470,191,766 | $2,966,192,256 | 20.1% |
| Office | $1,372,022,026 | $1,583,267,680 | 15.4% |
| Retail | $895,944,953 | $1,025,428,241 | 14.5% |
| Warehouse | $457,133,413 | $543,423,010 | 18.9% |
| Hotel | $607,908,431 | $771,309,380 | 26.9% |
| Total | $5,803,200,589 | $6,889,620,567 | 18.7% |
Commercial property owners in Nueces County are seeing assessments rising by 23.6% for property constructed 2001 and since.
O’Connor has reviewed Nueces County commercial assessment increases by value range and found that commercial property over $5M has the greatest increase in taxable value, up 21.7% for 2023.
Apartment property owners are seeing a 26.9% rise in assessed value for property built in 2001 and later, the highest increase among ranges of year built and consistent with the overall trend for commercial property assessments.
Commercial office property owners also saw consistency in increased assessment for real estate built 2001 and later, with values up 19.1% for 2023.
Nueces County retail property for the same range, 2001 and later, is up 17.7% for 2023.
Warehouse owners of property built in 2001 and later are finding their assessed values up 22.1%, also the most among all ranges.
Office property in Nueces County falling into the sub-types low and average have similar levels of assessment increase with values going up 23.8% and 23.6% respectively.
Apartment owners in Nueces County with small apartment properties have the greatest pain from growing assessments, up over 26%. High rise owners are experiencing similar discomfort with values up by 24.6%.
Among all Nueces County retail owners, single tenant property owners are stinging the most with assessed values up almost 20% for 2023.
Most warehouse properties in Nueces County are up in assessed value between 5.5% and 20.9%, but the exception is owners of warehouses in the excellent sub type category. These owners have assessed values up by a staggering 89.2%!
If you are a residential or commercial property owner in Nueces County and your assessment has increased, you do not have to accept the new appraisal value, it is your right to appeal. Don’t pay more than your fair share. Record levels of property tax protest are expected to follow. The deadline to file a property tax protest is May 15th.
About O’Connor:
O’Connor is among the largest property tax consulting firms in the United States, providing residential property tax reduction services in Texas, Illinois, and Georgia, as well as commercial property tax reduction services across the United States. O’Connor’s team of professionals possess the resources and market expertise in the areas of property tax, cost segregation, commercial and residential real estate appraisals. The firm was founded in 1974 and employs more than 600 professionals worldwide. O’Connor’s core focus is enriching the lives of property owners through cost effective tax reduction.
Property owners interested in assistance appealing their assessment can enroll in O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program ™ . There is no upfront fee, or any fee unless we reduce your property taxes, and easy online enrollment only takes 2 to 3 minutes.
