Property tax-tied home appraisals have been hitting El Paso mailboxes this month.
The notices from the El Paso Central Appraisal District are usually dreaded by homeowners because they often bring news of increasing valuations that ultimately bring higher property tax bills from area government agencies.
This year, home appraised values are increasing at a higher rate than market values in many cases.
The average market value of single-family homes in El Paso County increased just under 3% to an average of $252,906, according to data from the Appraisal District. The value is set on Jan. 1, 2026. The average increase in market value in 2025 was 4% after protests were completed.
The county’s total home market value in 2026 is $59.3 billion, up 4.1%.
The 2026 appraised value increased an average of almost 6% for single-family homes in the county.
This is the lowest increase in home valuations in several years as the home sales market has weakened because of higher mortgage interest rates and other factors, said David Stone, the district’s deputy chief appraiser.
The market value determines a home’s appraised value, which taxing entities use to calculate property tax bills.
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Protests due May 15
The 2026 market value will likely decrease further as protests bring valuation adjustments, Stone said.
It was initially an average 5% increase in 2025, but dropped to an average 4% increase after protests.
Protests are due May 15, or 30 days from the date on a property’s appraisal notice. They can be filed online.
This year’s amount of increases in valuations is more typical of what was seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, when home sales prices skyrocketed, Stone said.
Home’s market value determines appraised value
The market value determines a home’s appraised value, which taxing entities use for property tax bills. The home value is what a homeowner can protest if he or she thinks the Appraisal District got the value wrong.
This year, 62% of homes appraised by the Appraisal District did not increase in market value or decreased, district data show. That’s 143,461 homes out of the 230,650 homes appraised by the district.
Under Texas law, the appraised value can’t be greater than the market value, Stone said.
Homes with market values above the average may be in neighborhoods where properties are selling at higher prices than in other areas of El Paso.
Another reason may be tied to the expiration of valuation reductions granted by the district after an owner’s protest. If a home’s problems that allowed the reduction have not been fixed, the owner needs to file a new protest, Stone said.
Appraised values go up even if market values don’t
Even if a home’s market value didn’t increase, the appraised value may have increased because that’s tied to automatic calculations set under Texas law, Stone said.
Appraised values in 2026 increased an average of almost 6% for single-family homes in the county.
Even if a government agency’s tax rate doesn’t increase, a property owner’s tax bills rise with increased appraised values.
Protesting automatic increases in appraised values fruitless
Stone is estimating the district may see a similar number of protests as in 2025 when 36,643 protests were filed by homeowners.
“I am hoping we’ll see less, but I have a feeling a lot of people are still going to be upset because even though (their) market value didn’t change, their appraised value is going up by up to 10%, so they still might file a protest.”
Just over 48,000 homes had no increase in market value in 2026, but have an increase in the appraised value, Stone reported.
If a home’s market value didn’t change from 2025, a homeowner doesn’t have much to stand on for a protest, he said.
Market values catch up to appraised values
When the market is hot, home market values often increase at a higher rate than appraised values. That’s because on owner-occupied homes with homestead exemptions, the annual increase in appraised value is capped by Texas law at 10% per year. The annual cap continues until the home’s market value catches up to its appraised value.
More homes’ appraised values have caught up to their market values in the last three years as home sales prices slowed, Stone said.
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Homestead exemptions lessen taxable tally
The final value on the Appraisal District’s notice to homeowners is a home’s taxable value. That’s the appraised value with homestead exemptions subtracted. This is the value used by agencies to calculate property tax bills.
The taxable value varies by government agency because the city, county, school districts and other taxing entities have different homestead exemption amounts.
Homeowners must apply for homestead exemptions, which can be done online.
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on X, and @vkolenc.bsky.social on Bluesky.
2026 home valuations
El Paso County single-family home valuations:
Total home market value: $59.3 billion, up 4.1%
Average home market value: $252,906, up 3%
Total home appraised value: $56.6 billion, up 7.5%
Average home appraised value: $240,598, up 6%
Source: El Paso Central Appraisal District
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Dreaded home tax appraisal notices out; what to know about valuations
Reporting by Vic Kolenc, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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