Interim county appraiser outlines rising property values, shortage of attainable housing in Olathe

Kara Endicott, interim Johnson County appraiser, told the Olathe City Council on April 1 that Johnson County’s overall assessed valuation rose roughly 8% and that residential property remains the dominant share of local tax base.

Endicott said the county’s appraised value is about $23,000,000,000 overall, with roughly $19,000,000,000 in residential value, about $3,000,000,000 in commercial property and approximately $240,000,000 in vacant lots. "It's no secret to anyone that right now we have a severe shortage of housing in Johnson County and that it is very much a seller's market," Endicott said.

The appraiser presented nation- and county-level comparisons and internal breakdowns used to set next year’s valuations. She told the council the average sale price used in the reappraisal analysis was about $475,000 (sales from 2023–24), while the county's valuation model put average taxable values lower — around $437,000 for Olathe — because valuation uses a wider set of older and lived-in properties.

Why it matters: changes in…