BEHIND THE NUMBERS

55%

MEDIAN TAX VALUE INCREASE FOR PROPERTY OWNERS

BRUNSWICK COUNTY PROPERTY OWNERS RECEIVE NEW TAX VALUES

BY CECE NUNN

BRUNSWICK COUNTY PROPERTY OWNERS HAVE received their new tax values as a result of this year’s required revaluation process.

Looking at the county as a whole, the median tax value increased 55%, but there were areas that increased less or more than that, said Meagan Kascsak, Brunswick County’s communications director, in an email.

“Property values did not change uniformly throughout the county or even within each city or town,” Kascsak said. “A lot depended on market conditions and recent sales in a property’s neighborhood.”

She said not all properties in Brunswick County increased in value.

“There are properties that actually saw their values decrease or remain about the same,” Kascsak said.

“What is very important for property owners to understand is that the percentage your property value increased or changed does not equate to your next tax bill increasing or changing by that percentage,” she added. “It is actually impossible for any property owner in Brunswick County to determine how their new assessed value affects their property taxes right now because the County, their municipal governments, and/or other public entities that serve properties have not adopted their FY 2024 operating budgets nor have they set tax rates yet (this typically happens in late spring/ early summer).”

The current county tax rate is 0.4850, or 48-and-a-half cents per $100 value, meaning the property tax bill for a $200,000 house would be $970 at the current rate.

Revaluations are required by state law, with each county needing to conduct a revaluation at least once every eight years to reflect current market value, according to a frequently asked questions list on the revaluation website, brunswickcountync.gov/tax-office/revaluation.

“Many counties including Brunswick County conduct their revaluations every four years. The last revaluation was effective January 1, 2019,” the site states.

All property owners have the right to appeal the values beginning Jan. 1 each year.

Kascsak said the tax office had received around 700 appeals as of March 13. “With approximately 156,000 parcels,” she said, “that is about 0.5% of parcels that have sent in an appeal.”

SOUTHEASTERN NC

NUMBER OF LUXURY HOME SALES OF $1M OR MORE

FEB. 2022 39 30

FEB. 2023

NEW HANOVER COUNTY

(Feb. 2022 to Feb. 2023)

+13.3%

INCREASE IN MEDIAN SALE PRICE FOR SINGLEFAMILY HOME -21.3%

DROP IN NUMBER OF CLOSED SALES

NORTH CAROLINA

ESTIMATED SHORTAGE OF REGISTERED NURSES BY 2033 STATEWIDE

12,500

WILMINGTON

30

NUMBER OF SHOWS PLANNED FOR LIVE OAK BANK PAVILION UP FROM 20 LAST YEAR

Sources: Just For Buyers Realty/N.C. Regional Multiple Listing Service, Cape Fear Realtors, UNC, city of Wilmington