Contractor defends reappraisal methods as commissioners and residents raise inconsistencies; county reports 623 appeals

At a special Pender County commission meeting, reappraisal contractor Ryan Vincent walked the board and the public through how a mass reappraisal is done, why some parcel notices show large increases and how residents can contest valuations.

Vincent said the 2026 reappraisal was a full measure-and-list job, that assessors generally do not enter homes, and that the work relies on sales from the preceding two to three years adjusted to the valuation date of Jan. 1, 2026. He cited Department of Revenue (DOR) sales-ratio studies showing Pender’s tested ratios were about 62.66% in 2023, roughly 54.87% in 2024 and 54.32% in 2025. "To get that to 100%... is a 84% increase in value across the board," he said, describing how market movements can produce large assessed-value increases in a long…