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County tax vendor says data collection underway for 2027 revaluation; sales show broad increases
Summary
Vendor reported field data collection for Alleghany County’s 2027 reappraisal has visited about 4,000 of roughly 15,000 parcels and expects to finish physical data work in January; early sales examples presented show notable increases in market prices in several areas.
A contractor assisting Alleghany County with its 2027 property revaluation told commissioners on July 21 that field data collection is under way and that reappraisal notices will be mailed in late winter or early spring 2027.
Joshua Clean, regional project manager, said the vendor has visited about 4,000 of approximately 15,000 county parcels and expects to complete physical data collection in January. He described reappraisal as a mass-appraisal process required by state law at least once every eight years to redistribute the tax burden based on current market values as of Jan. 1, 2027.
Clean outlined the four basic steps for revaluation: data collection, sales analysis and statistical modeling, creation of a schedule of values (a legally binding document that explains methodologies and rates), and mailing of notices followed by an appeals process for property owners.
He said field staff will use county-marked vehicles and wear high-visibility vests; most work consists of drive-by inspections, photographing visible features and correcting records when discrepancies are observed. The vendor also uses aerial imagery services (EagleView/ecometry) for difficult-to-access properties; the company does not use drones.
Clean cautioned that the project is still in its sales-analysis phase and declined to provide a confident overall percentage change in values. He did present several sales examples from 2025 showing significant increases relative to 2021 assessed values. Examples included:
- A house on Chair Lane assessed in 2021 at $145,500 that sold in June 2025 for $278,000 (an increase of about 91%). - A new build in Piney Creek with a 2021 schedule value (because it did not exist in 2021) showing an implied 2021 value; it sold in June 2025 for $465,000 (a 123% increase relative to the 2021 schedule value shown). - Multiple Sparta-area sales with increases from roughly 68% up to 141% compared with 2021 assessments. - A commercial property assessed at $825,000 in 2021 that sold in June 2025 for about $1.1 million (about a 33% increase).
Clean said mass appraisal relies on sales ratios and other statistical tests to measure accuracy across neighborhoods and market areas. He also said taxpayers may appeal their values after notices are mailed.
County staff clarified the schedule of values will be published for public review before the board acts on it; adoption of the schedule is typically a formal, separate board action.
Commissioners asked whether aerial drones are used (no) and whether COVID-related market effects were influencing values (Clean said he was not with the company in 2021 and declined to ascribe statewide patterns but said local sales will determine values).
The vendor’s presentation and the examples shown signal notable market shifts in parts of the county between the 2021 assessments and 2024–25 sales; however, staff and the vendor emphasized the final county-wide impact will be determined after full sales analysis and model calibration.
