New Appraisals Of Harris County Homes Damaged By Hurricane Harvey Could Go Up

This Aug. 31, 2017, file photo shows an aerial view of the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston.

Harris County homeowners flooded by Hurricane Harvey are getting notices of their 2019 appraisals and the formula for this year could put some home values 20 percent higher than before the storm.

This year, homes with a homestead exemption in Harris County that flooded and were still being repaired in 2018 will be appraised based on the value of the home before damage occurred, plus up to 10 percent per year since.

That concerns some homeowners, who worry they could be paying taxes on a home that wouldn’t sell for anything close to the price it was appraised.

But Harris County Appraisal District spokesman Jack Barnett says there is a cap that keeps appraisal values below the estimated market value.

“That appraisal cap can keep the appraised value a little lower than what the property would actually sell for, and it’s the appraised value that the taxes are based on,” Barnett told News 88.7.

The district says if a home was worth $300,000 dollars in 2017 and was making repairs during appraisals last year, that home would now be worth $363,000.