2001 Final Property Value Study
School Taxable Property Values Increase 11 Percent
Texas school districts’ final taxable property values totaled more than $960 billion in 2001, an increase of 11 percent or more than $96 billion from the 2000 property value study. The Comptroller’s office certified the final estimate of school taxable property values — based on the appraisal date of January 1, 2001 — to Education Commissioner Felipe Alanis on July 1, 2002.
The Government Code requires the Texas Education Agency to use the Comptroller’s annual estimates of individual school district taxable wealth to determine state aid payments. The Comptroller’s findings are reported in the agency’s 2001 Final Report of School and Appraisal Districts’ Property Value Study. The Comptroller sent a copy of the final report to members of the Texas Legislature and to each school district, county appraisal district, and county tax office.
The study findings vary from the preliminary findings released in February, 2002, because school districts, appraisal districts, and certain taxpayers (with property in the study) filed appeals and corrections with the Comptroller’s Property Tax Division (PTD).
Property value trends
Taxable values increased in 969 school districts, with an average increase of more than 14 percent from 2000. Values declined in 83 districts by an average of less than 5 percent. While the state has 1,035 school districts, this total is for 1,052 districts since some school districts are appraised by more than one appraisal district. In these "split districts," the PTD counts these as separate districts for Property Value Study (PVS) purposes.
The final 2001 study, before exemptions, revealed almost a 12-percent increase in the value of single-family residences, just under the 2000 increase of 13 percent. This category is the largest in appraised value, representing 45 percent of the total school district tax base. Multi-family residences values increased more than 10 percent, following an 11-percent increase in 2000.
Changes in business properties’ values varied, depending on the category type. Commercial real property increased more than 8 percent, compared to 11 percent last year. Industrial real property increased almost 13 percent, after a 10-percent increase in 2000.
Industrial personal and commercial personal properties continue to increase in value. Industrial personal increased almost 14 percent (compared to 9 percent in 2000) and commercial personal rose more than 8 percent (compared to less than 1 percent in 2000).
The only category decreasing in value was utilities at almost 4 percent, after declining 15 percent in value in 2000. Oil, gas and minerals continued to rebound, with more than a 56-percent increase, following the 2000 value increase of almost 14 percent.
Residential inventory, residential property held for sale by the developer, also increased 56 percent, following almost 23 percent from the 2000 study. Special inventory is the inventory value of motor vehicle, boat, heavy equipment, and manufactured housing dealers required to file special reports with appraisal districts and county tax offices; it increased 30 percent from the 2000 study.
Category N, intangible personal and uncertified property, included miscellaneous properties listed on the local tax rolls but not certified by local appraisal review boards at reporting time. With updated information during the appeals process, Comptroller staff distributed the certified values among other property categories.
Statewide School District Taxable Values
2000 to 2001 (in billions)Note: Totals may not add because numbers are rounded.
Property Category 2000 Final Value 2001 Final Value % Change A. Single-family Residences $444.73 $497.89 11.95 B. Multi-family Residences $46.18 $50.93 10.29 C. Vacant Lots $22.91 $24.86 8.51 D. Rural Real (Taxable) $46.05 $48.97 6.34 F1. Commercial Real $152.17 $164.80 8.30 F2. Industrial Real $62.37 $70.41 12.89 G. Oil, Gas, Minerals $28.28 $44.20 56.29 J. Utilities $40.64 $39.07 -3.86 L1. Commercial Personal $79.37 $85.94 8.28 L2. Industrial Personal $49.45 $56.26 13.77 M. Other Personal $4.41 $5.08 15.19 N. Intangible Personal & Uncertified $3.41 $2.74 -19.65 O. Residential Inventory $2.14 $3.35 56.54 S. Special Inventory $2.53 $3.29 30.04 Value Subtotals $984.65 $1,097.78 11.49 Less Total Exemptions $120.39 $137.39 14.12 Total Taxable Value $864.26 $960.39 11.12
Source: Comptroller's Property Tax Division, 2001 Property Value StudyExemptions
Government Code Section 403.302 specifies the exemptions and special appraisals the Comptroller’s office deducts from market value to determine the taxable value of property in school districts. The table below shows school districts’ total exemptions and abatements increased $17 billion from the previous year. The 14-percent increase resulted from the granting of more state-mandated homestead exemptions, an increase in the loss for the tax limit on homesteads of homeowners age 65 or older, and an increase in residence homesteads with the value cap. Other exemptions with increasing amounts exempted were for tax increment financing, freeport property, and pollution control.
As in past years, the state-mandated homestead exemptions and the taxable value loss for those homes with tax ceilings for qualified homeowners age 65 or older and with value caps account for more than 86 percent of the deducted amount.
Estimates of School District Exemptions and Abatements
Certified to Texas Education Agency
2000 Exempt Value
(in billions)2001 Exempt Value
(in billions)Homestead & Disabled Vet Exemptions $ 69.89 $ 72.86 Homestead Cap Value Loss $ 9.54 $ 14.70 Tax Limit on Over-65 Homesteads $ 26.59 $ 34.40 Abatements and Others $ 14.36 $ 19.29 Total $120.39 $141.25 Appraisal district findings
County appraisal districts (CADs) continue to appraise property with uniform results and close to market value, according to the 2001 Final Property Value Study. CADs achieved a study result of 99 percent of market value, the same level as the previous five studies.
State law requires tax appraisals to be equal, uniform , and at market value. The median appraisal ratio measures how close a CAD’s typical appraisal is to market value. The coefficient of dispersion (COD) measures appraisal uniformity, whether properties are being appraised at an equal percentage of market value. The statewide COD was 12.26.
The tables below show the statewide median appraisal ratios and the statewide coefficients of dispersion from 1991 to 2001.
Statewide Median Appraisal Ratios
1991 through 2001 Property Value StudiesThe table below compares the statewide median appraisal ratios from the 1991 to 2001 Property Value Studies. The statewide median appraisal ratio for an individual property category was calculated using the appraisal ratios of all Property Tax Division sample properties in that category from across the state. The overall statewide median appraisal ratio was calculated using the appraisal ratios for all sample properties. Property Category 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 A. Single-family Residential 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.97 0.97 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.97 B. Multi-family Residential 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.98 0.99 0.98 0.98 0.99 C. Vacant Lots 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 D. Acreage (market value) .99* 1.00* 1.00* 1.00* 1.00* .99* .98* .98* 0.98 0.98* 0.98* E. Farm & Ranch Improvements * * * * * * * * * * * F1. Commercial Real 0.98 0.99 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.98 0.97 0.98 F2. Industrial Real ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** G. Oil, Gas & Minerals 1.03 1.02 1.04 1.03 1.02 1.02 1.01 1.00 1.02 1.03 0.99 J. Utilities 1.06 1.02 1.00 1.01 1.02 0.99 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 L1. Commercial Personal 0.97 0.98 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 L2. Industrial Personal ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** M. Other Personal 1.06 ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** O. Residential Inventory 1.03 ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** OVERALL 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.99 1.00 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.99 * Beginning in 1989, taxable values for Farm & Ranch Improvements (formerly Category E) were merged into Category D with Acreage (market value).
** Too few sample observations were available to produce meaningful statewide median appraisal ratios for these properties.
Statewide Coefficients of Dispersion
1991 through 2001 Property Value StudiesThe table below compares the statewide coefficients of dispersion from the 1991 to 2001 Property Value Studies. The statewide coefficient of dispersion for an individual property category was calculated using the appraisal ratios of all Property Tax Division sample properties in that category from across the state. The overall statewide coefficient of dispersion was calculated using the appraisal ratios for all sample properties. Property Category 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 A. Single-family Residential 14.11 13.12 12.93 10.74 12.11 11.36 11.06 9.68 9.23 10.05 10.68 B. Multi-family Residential 13.27 10.84 12.66 8.38 10.06 8.43 7.71 7.34 7.63 7.70 8.91 C. Vacant Lots 23.16 22.66 22.01 19.27 18.21 19.86 17.10 15.17 13.68 14.79 17.29 D. Acreage (market value) 15.98* 15.50* 16.31* 18.49* 14.92* 14.60* 15.62* 16.09* 14.51* 14.96* 15.64* E. Farm & Ranch Improvements * * * * * * * * * * * F1. Commercial Real 15.58 15.80 14.38 12.59 13.28 11.34 11.01 10.51 10.59 10.56 10.39 F2. Industrial Real ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** G. Oil, Gas & Minerals 12.94 9.41 11.20 13.01 12.61 18.95 4.85 7.38 20.52 7.15 31.30 J. Utilities 20.38 17.28 14.18 14.35 12.50 12.40 10.76 9.64 12.78 12.26 12.00 L1. Commercial Personal 17.54 16.36 10.83 8.14 11.95 20.73 11.20 9.24 7.52 8.19 8.32 L2. Industrial Personal ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** M. Other Personal 17.19 ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** O. Residential Inventory 13.84 ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** OVERALL 16.18 14.58 13.97 12.86 13.17 13.47 11.64 10.86 11.79 11.53 12.26 * Beginning in 1989, taxable values for Farm & Ranch Improvements (formerly Category E) were merged into Category D with Acreage (market value).
** Too few sample observations were available to produce meaningful statewide coefficients of disperson for these properties.
