Durham tax office outlines 2025 reappraisal, timeline for notices and relief programs

Durham County tax staff and the tax administrator briefed commissioners on the countywide reappraisal with a valuation date of Jan. 1, 2025. The presentation explained North Carolina reappraisal rules, sales-ratio methodology and the county's goal of bringing assessments close to market value.

Staff highlighted how sales have shifted since the last reappraisal: "January 2019 median sale price in Durham County was $239,500. As of October 2024 the median sale price in Durham County was $419,500," a presenter said, using those figures to illustrate why many residential values will rise. The team described specific sales with double-digit and triple-digit percent increases in some neighborhoods and noted the sales window closed Dec. 31, 2024 for modeling purposes.

Key dates: appraisal-notice mailings are expected by March 1 and online appeals will open in early March; a board of equalization and review is scheduled May 5 to June 16. Staff walked through state-administered relief programs (elderly/disabled homestead exemption, disabled-veteran exclusion, circuit-breaker deferment) and described the county's DSS-administered low-income homeowner relief program, which has seen rising applications and disbursements. Public information staff said they will run a bilingual outreach campaign and community information sessions ahead of the notices.

Commissioners asked for detailed vacancy, recruitment and retention metrics from County HR related to sheriff staffing, and staff agreed to provide those data and to post reappraisal maps and dashboard visualizations to help residents understand neighborhood-level changes.