The chief appraiser of the Bexar Appraisal District reports property appraisal protests may reach 140,000 this year as property values rise.
The pandemic did not slow a hot housing market, according to local officials.
Chief Appraiser Michael Amezquita said local property appraisals rose an average 8% locally, but some popular neighborhood properties around the city rose as much as 30%.
The higher the appraisal, the higher the property taxes that follow, but Amezquita points out his office does not set the property tax rate, local governments do.
It's not just locals who try to outbid each other for a new home. Amezquita says there's a lot of outside interest in the local housing market
"We don't have enough supply. We have an incredible amount of demand. I was just reading some information from SABOR (The San Antonio Board of Realtors) the other day. It's something like 42% of the population that is shopping for a home in San Antonio isn't from San Antonio," he said.
Amezquita encourages property owners to file protests online and arrange hearings by phone or Zoom. Learn more at bcad.org.
Home shopping is not the only thing on the rise in San Antonio, shopping in general is making a comeback, according to sales tax refund figures for March from the state comptroller's office.
The city received $41 million from the state or an increase of 33% over March of 2020. Sales tax gains from restaurants and retailers led the way, the comptroller said.
San Antonio's economic comeback is outpacing other Texas cities, too. Austin sales tax collections were up 26% in March, compared to the same month last year.
Dallas was up 25% and Houston rose 22% in the same comparison
Sales tax refunds to Olmos Park led San Antonio's suburban cities in March, up 50%.
San Antonio also beat the statewide increase of 28%.
The state collected a total of $1.1 billion in sales taxes in March. City sales taxes are collected by the state and then returned to cities.
March sales taxes were collected in April and reported earlier this month by the state comptroller.
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