Welcome to the Central Appraisal District of Wharton County
Central Appraisal District of Wharton County presents the information on this web site as a service to the public.
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General Recap of Appraisal Changes
Commercial Real Property – As most of you know, the cost schedules must be updated at least every two years. Those changes were modified by local sale information. Additionally, most commercial buildings were re-inspected to ensure appropriate depreciation. This Cost Update was county-wide.Rural Land – This was the most significant change. There were more land sales since January 2011, than the CAD has seen in several years. Surprisingly, the large tract sales indicated the most undervalued properties. East side of the Colorado River had 200-300 acres tracts selling in the 2000-3000 per acre range, as well as tracts over 1000 acres. The north east also saw significant sales in smaller, rural residential size tracts as well. Northwest of the Colorado River, along Highway 71 and FM 1300 had solid sales in small tracts, while the Southwest part was more weighted in mid to large tract land sales. Surrounding counties are experiencing very similar land sales.
City Residential properties in El Campo continue to have a solid market in some areas, but some slight decreases in small outer lying areas. While the City of Wharton had a few pocket neighborhoods with strong sales, and higher than typical volume of sales, the majority of the area appears to remain steady. Smaller communities in the southeast had slight increases due to sales activity as well. East Bernard, overall, remains steady.
Rural East Side inspections – For 2011, the CAD inspected the rural west side of the Colorado River, and for 2012 the inspections were on the east side of the river. We found the same trends, in that structures were missing from the records. Remodels, additions and other changes to the property had not been addressed in previous years. As with 2011, those inspections for 2012 did affect a large percentage of properties. These are corrections to the records, just as additional observed depreciation, that may cause value changes that are not market related.
You are encouraged to visit the CAD and review your appraisal record and speak to an appraiser if you have questions or additional information regarding your property. Please review the information used to value your property to determine if you would like to protest. An ARB Protest Hearing is based on evidence supporting a 2012 valuation. Please bring in photos or other supporting documentation to support your opinion of value.
Last Update: May 10 2012 9:33AM
