Tax bills likely to rise with property values

DeKalb residential notices reflect 8 percent increase.

Property tax bills might rise again this year for many DeKalb homeowners because residential real estate values increased another 8 percent, according to the county’s latest estimates.

Residents are discovering the changes to their property values from assessment notices mailed Friday for 230,000 parcels in DeKalb.

Unless the county or its school system reduces tax rates this summer, residents whose homes gained value will have to pay higher property taxes. Tax bills are calculated by combining assessed property values and tax rates set by local governments.

Estimated values of existing real estate rose 5 percent across DeKalb for the 2017 tax year, according to preliminary county government assessment data. New construction accounted for another 3 percentage points of growth in taxable property values.

Assessed property values have steadily increased for five straight years in DeKalb in the wake of the Great Recession.

With a $25.3 billion tax digest for 2017, property values in DeKalb still haven’t fully recovered from their peak in 2008, when they reached $27.4 billion.

Each county in Georgia estimates property values every year, based on recent sales, to reflect market conditions.

Residents have 45 days — until July 17 in most cases — to appeal their DeKalb assessments. To appeal, visit www. dekalbcountyga.gov/taxcommissioner.