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Orange County tax office prepares for 2025 revaluation; notices to mail in March, appeals process explained
Summary
Tax administrator Nancy Freeman outlined the county's mandatory 2025 property revaluation (effective Jan. 1, 2025), estimated countywide assessed-value increases and the appeals process. Notices will mail in mid‑March and informal appeals begin on receipt.
Orange County’s tax office told commissioners the county will complete its statutorily required 2025 property revaluation with an appraisal date of Jan. 1, 2025, and that notices to property owners are scheduled to be mailed in mid‑March.
Tax administrator Nancy Freeman described the revaluation process as a mass appraisal that updates assessed values to current market and present‑use values as of the single appraisal date. She said residential properties are reviewed by the county appraisal staff and commercial properties were valued with assistance from local commercial appraiser Analytical Consultants.
“Reappraisal purposes…utilization of assessed value so that all property owners pay at 100% of market value,” Freeman said, noting the county’s purpose is to equalize the tax burden across property types and locations. Freeman emphasized the county uses qualified sales and excludes non‑arm’s‑length transactions from the sales sample.
Freeman told the board the county had performed about 10,000 field reviews in preparation for the revaluation; she said that is roughly three times the fieldwork performed before the 2021 revaluation. She explained property owners may review the county’s online property record and sales bank before filing an informal appeal and that the county will include a simplified informal‑appeal form with mailed notices.
Preliminary results presented to the board showed large county‑wide increases in assessed values compared with the 2021 baseline. Freeman said the county’s tentative estimate was an approximate countywide change near 50 percent; she reported a sample of nearby counties that completed 2025 revaluations showed statewide increases averaging about 61 percent. Freeman noted the State Department of Revenue requires counties to reappraise earlier than their normal cycle if sales ratios move outside acceptable bounds; Orange County’s sales ratio triggered the mandated reappraisal, she said.
Freeman described the two-step appeals timeline: an informal appeal handled by appraisal staff from the mailing date through April 30, and a formal appeal to the Board of Equalization and Review from May 1 through July 30. She estimated the county might receive about 2,500 informal appeals and roughly 750 formal appeals and said staff provide budget estimates for potential reductions in assessed value when preparing fiscal plans.
Freeman and commissioners discussed field reviews in the Northside Neighborhood Conservation District and the county’s approach to properties purposely designed for rental use. Commissioners asked for clarification about median assessed values and median sale prices in the preliminary tables; Freeman said staff would review those figures and follow up with commissioners.
The tax office said it will hold public outreach events in March and April and the county will accept informal appeals online or via the mailed form.
