Union County property values spike 60%. Here’s what it means for your taxes
Union County residents are staring at higher property values and, potentially, bigger tax bills after the county’s revaluation process.
Union County began mailing the new values to residents last week, showing a 60% total increase in values among four types of property — including a 58% increase for single-family residential properties and 46% for commercial properties. Higher tax payments depend on the rate county commissioners, cities and towns adopt in June, according to Vann Harrell, Union County tax administrator.
Though North Carolina requires counties to conduct reappraisals every eight years, the state requested the county conduct the reevaluation sooner due to the increased difference between market values and the values determined in the last assessment, Harrell said.
“The biggest concern is ‘how does this play into the taxes? What are my taxes gonna be?’” Harrell told the Charlotte Observer. “It’s all going to come down to where the rates fall. You may pay a little more, you may pay a little less, depending on the situation.”
The Union County Commission decreased the tax rate by 15 cents per $100 in valuation in 2021 after the last reappraisal, Harrell said. The commission will adopt a new tax rate along with the budget in June.
Local governments are required to publish a revenue-neutral rate, which would bring in the same amount of money as the year prior. Whether or not the government adopts the revenue -neutral rate, Harrell said, is up to them.
But people can pay more in property taxes even with the revenue-neutral rate if their values spiked higher than average. Charlotte city leaders said in 2023 even if a revenue-neutral rate was adopted, more than 90% of homeowners in the city would see a higher tax bill after a Mecklenburg County reevaluation.
“If there’s a grain of shall I say, hope, to give taxpayers it’s that the county tends to adjust the rate down,” Harrell said. “I think that the general consensus that I’ve heard in the meetings I’ve done with some town officials is a lot of them will be dropping their rates. It’s just a matter of how much.”
Where Union County property values increased
Harrell said he worked with a team of 11 people for over a year and a half to revalue more than 114,000 properties.
The process largely involved analyzing property sales, he said. The county grouped together properties into 800 “appraisal neighborhoods” based on geographic location and property types such as large single-family homes or townhomes. From there, the county considered the quality and age of the home.
“Location matters, the land value matters, but it’s all driven by the sales data,” Harrell said.
The town of Wingate saw the largest increase in property values, attributed to its small size and increased construction, Harrell said. The village of Marvin and town of Weddington contain the highest-value homes, with a 68% median increase in value and an average home value of $1.1 million. The village of Lake Park saw the lowest total increase in property values at nearly 54%.
If a property owner disagrees with the newly assessed value, they should submit an appeal to the county, he said.
“We tell people, ‘help us be right,’” Harrell said. “We’re not going to know every detail about your property. You know it better than we do. Give us the information, let us look at it, if we can make adjustments, we will.”
The county is able to reach an agreement with the taxpayer most of the time, Harrell said. If there is a disagreement, it may be escalated to the county’s board of equalization, a state commission or the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
Residents can submit an appeal on the county’s assessment website.
Why are values increasing?
Ehlert Lassen, president of the Union County Association of Realtors, said the growth of Union County and property value increases can be attributed to the growth of Charlotte.
For quite, a while it was very difficult to sell. It was not a very attractive place. And then, just like that, because of the price pressure from the growth of Charlotte, it was certainly discovered that Union County was the place to go to,” he told the Observer. “A, the taxes are lower in Union County, and B, the prices were far lower than in Charlotte.”
The population of Union County grew by about 8% between 2020 and 2023, while Mecklenburg County grew by about 4%, according to data from the US Census Bureau.
The increased values could impact renters too, he said. If taxes increase dramatically for building owners, those costs could be passed to renters.
Lassen said his own home went from being valued at $350,000 to $570,000 after this reappraisal. He said is both pleased his home value has increased, and upset he could likely pay more in taxes.
This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
