Buncombe County reappraisal sparks more than 11,000 property tax appeals

More than 11,000 Buncombe County property owners have already challenged their new assessments, a sign that the latest reappraisal is landing directly in household budgets across Asheville and the county. Officials say the spike reflects the biggest jump in values in more than a decade, but they also stress that a higher assessment does not automatically mean an equal jump in a tax bill.

The county’s reappraisal cycle is meant to keep property values aligned with the market. North Carolina law requires counties to reappraise at least once every eight years, and Buncombe has used a four-year cycle. The last countywide reappraisal took effect Jan. 1, 2021. The next one was supposed to begin Jan. 1, 2025, but commissioners pushed it to Jan. 1, 2026 after Tropical Storm Helene. County staff collected data on thousands of damaged parcels after the storm and are still visiting, reviewing and adjusting properties tied to that work.

Tax Assessor Eric Cregger has said the county is comparing today’s values against tax bills that were based on five-year-old market data, which helps explain why the numbers are so much higher now. Buncombe County also says the current wave of appeals is still less than 10% of all properties, so officials view it as a heavy but expected response in a revaluation year. Informal appeals are being handled directly by appraisers, while formal appeals can be filed through May 5, when the Board of Equalization and Review adjourns. Property owners have 30 days from a notice of value to appeal, and the county says there is no cost to do it.

The county’s message to owners is that an appeal has to focus on valuation, not on tax rates or a taxpayer’s ability to pay. Officials say properties are grouped with similar homes based on location, size and condition, not compared one by one against every house on a street. That distinction matters for owners whose property cards may be wrong, including homes that were damaged or boarded up.

The appeal surge has also exposed how uneven the reassessment has felt across Buncombe. Reporting on a sample of more than 80 residential properties found increases ranging from 25% to 324%, with notable jumps in Kenilworth, Grove Park/Town Mountain and West Asheville, and large average increases in Southside, Shiloh and East End. The county has held more than 80 outreach events and presentations since 2023, and it extended appeal-clinic hours after overwhelming turnout. The pressure now shifts to the formal review process, while the real tax rate still will not be set until the Board of Commissioners acts later and bills go out in August.