Wake County tax administrator: recent revaluation drove sharp value gains; county will shorten cycle to reduce sticker shock

Marcus Kinrade, Wake County tax administrator, told the Town of Garner council on March 25 that Wake County’s 2024 revaluation produced substantial assessed-value increases across the county and that the tax office is changing procedures to reduce future taxpayer surprise.

Kinrade said Wake County saw countywide assessed-value growth of about 51 percent through the 2024 revaluation on its four‑year cycle and that local comparison counties reported similar jumps (Johnston County about 70 percent, Durham County about 75 percent, Orange County about 49 percent). He said Wake County added roughly 75,000 parcels in the nine years since the county shortened the revaluation cycle from eight years to four years in 2016, a gain Kinrade described as “the equivalent of Alamance County.”

The tax administrator said the county recorded about 15,900 informal appeals during the informal window (a 3.7 percent rate) and 8,935 formal appeals to the county’s Board of Equalization and Review (a 2.1 percent formal appeal rate across roughly 430,000 parcels). Kinrade said the county carried about 977 formal appeals into calendar year 2025, mostly commercial cases, and expected to finish those hearings in March 2025.

Kinrade described patterns the office saw after bills were mailed in July 2024: more taxpayers appeared in person at hearings, and many comments focused on the tax bill rather than assessed value — taxpayers sought relief or said they could not pay the bill, which lengthened hearings and slowed the appeals process.

To reduce future valuation “sticker shock,” Kinrade said the Wake County Board of Commissioners voted to accelerate the revaluation cadence, stepping from a four‑year cycle to revaluations effective Jan. 1, 2027, and again in 2029. He said the goal is to keep assessments closer to market values by revaluing more often.

On market trends, Kinrade said analysis of about 17,500 sales showed roughly a 5 percent increase in the market during calendar year 2024, and that sales volumes slowed as interest rates remained high. He urged residents not to assume taxing jurisdictions will automatically adopt a revenue‑neutral tax rate; he said jurisdictions that wish to display their revenue‑neutral calculations can participate in the county’s online neutral‑rate calculator and that Garner chose to participate in 2020 and 2024.

Kinrade described enhancements the county will make to public tools: (1) calculating and publishing revenue‑neutral rates for all jurisdictions (even if a jurisdiction does not supply a rate), (2) adding a “what‑if” option so residents can test proposed tax rates against their bills during budgeting cycles, and (3) keeping the tool available through the appeals process and billing so residents can see proposals and final bills. He also said the county will redesign the combined bill to show municipal and county tax components separately and to include the municipal logo and customer service number when applicable.

On specific valuation questions, Kinrade said the taxable value of a data center is mostly the internal equipment (servers and other hardware), not only the building or land, but that the equipment depreciates quickly and requires constant churn to maintain value. He also explained that apartment complexes are typically valued by the income approach rather than solely by sales comparisons: assessors estimate net operating income (considering rents, vacancy and expenses) and apply a capitalization rate; higher local tax rates can raise cap rates, lowering value for investors. Kinrade added that the tax office reconciles income, sales‑comparison and cost approaches where possible.

Kinrade said Garner’s formal appeal rate to the county board was about 1.8 percent and that the town’s housing stock — roughly 12,000 homes with half older than 25 years — shaped some local patterns: renovated homes with recent permits may see higher assessed values because appraisal software adjusts effective year‑built when significant improvements are documented.

Council members and residents used the question period to ask about revaluation timing, the appeals process, the role of permits in assessment changes and how amenities affect neighborhood values. Kinrade said amenities such as parks and greenways are priced into sales and therefore reflected indirectly in assessments rather than as line‑item adjustments.

Why it matters: Garner property owners are affected by county revaluation choices, the frequency of reassessments and how appeals are handled. The tax office’s promise of improved tools, more frequent revaluations and clearer bills is intended to reduce the large adjustments and billing complaints that followed the 2024 cycle.

Council members thanked Kinrade and asked staff to continue outreach; Kinrade encouraged jurisdictions to publish neutral‑rate information and said the tax office will press for transparency and improved public calculators.