Buncombe County adopts reappraisal schedule of values after months of data and staffing changes

Buncombe County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a schedule of values that will underpin the countywide property reappraisal effective Jan. 1, 2026.

The adoption follows a detailed presentation from Eric Kreger, Buncombe County ssessor, who described actions taken since the county d hoc reappraisal committee and an external Keane study. Kreger told the board the office had grown its account inventory, improved data collection, and raised appraisal staff capacity: "these are like what I use as guides for every decision plan we put in place in the assessment office now," he said.

Kreger told commissioners staff have added data analysts and appraisal staff, mailed record-card postcards that yielded more than 30,000 responses, and increased business-asset accounts to more than 10,000, which he estimated added more than $50 million in assessed value to the tax base in recent years. He described both short- and long-term steps: a dedicated team to review luxury homes and manufactured housing, planned regression-model pilots, and a potential countywide measure-and-relist of parcels to improve baseline data.

Why it matters: the schedule of values translates appraisal methods, condition and location adjustments, and market-area definitions into consistent assessed values. The board's action sets the legal framework for assessments and begins the appeals window on the schedule.

Board members questioned the limits of local authority and the practical effects of the changes. Vice Chair Moore asked whether counties can change elderly exemption income limits; Kreger replied those limits are set by the North Carolina General Assembly and apply to all 100 counties. Several commissioners pressed Kreger on the cost and timing of a full relist; he said a vendor-conducted, countywide relist could take about 18 months and could cost in the low millions.

Kreger also addressed short-term rentals (STRs), saying current state law and court decisions restrict a county's ability to require local registries in ways that would aid assessors. He cited a Wilmington case he called the Schroeder case as a reason zoning offices cannot maintain registries that would immediately identify STRs for valuation. He said assessors must value "like properties" by the sales-comparison approach unless statutes change. "State statute supports us doing that," Kreger said.

The board voted to adopt the schedule as presented; commissioners then opened the formal appeals period on the schedule. Kreger said Keane's consulting work includes a post-reval phase and that the county expects to continue implementing recommendations after Jan. 1, 2026.

Ending: The schedule will be effective Jan. 1, 2026; property sales through Dec. 31, 2025, will be considered in the reappraisal. The board approved the schedule at the meeting and the appeals period will follow the statutory timeline.