Property taxes in Raleigh, North Carolina have been a popular topic lately. Most homes are selling below property tax value right now. This is because the assessed tax value was recalculated in 2007 (for the 2008 re-assessment) and the market here had still not begun to decline. We reassess every 8 years so the current tax value was set at a time of peak home prices.
Over the past 3 years prices in the Raleigh real estate market have fallen at least 5-10% from their peak. More in certain areas. This means that if you buy a home now you will pay taxes based on a higher assessed value.
The good news is that property taxes in Raleigh (and in North Carolina in general) are quite a bit lower than many other markets. I help lots of people relocate to Raleigh and the desire to pay less in property tax is given as one of the top reasons for moving.
A good way to estimate property tax in Raleigh is to use 1% of the home’s sell price. Because prices are low, this estimate might be a little low too, but it will be very close. This 1% of sell price method is the same way many lenders estimate property taxes on their Good Faith Estimates.
If you ever want to know the exact property tax amount on a given property, just contact me and I’ll be glad to look it up for you. You can also check this page on the Wake County website to look up the exact property tax rates for various cities. There is a Wake County tax rate and an additional rate for the city in which the property is located. The two rates added together will give you the tax rate for any particular home.
Once you buy a home in the Raleigh area, you may want to ask the county to lower the accessed tax value. I can put together the recent sales info for your neighborhood to support your case. The feedback I have received is that the county is saying no to most requests for a lower tax value. But it never hurts to try. And if we quit asking altogether they will not feel any pressure to do anything.
Property taxes in Raleigh is just one of many things that attract people from all over the country. Our relatively mild climate, robust job market and economy, close proximity to the beach and mountains, and great schools and universities combine with a low property tax rate to make Raleigh a very attractive place to live.
