Property Tax Appeals Up Sharply

A difficult economy and an online appeal process caused a 50 percent increase in tax valuation appeals from Guilford County property owners compared to 2004, the last year in which tax valuations were performed.

Appeals are expected to total nearly 490 this year, said Alan Myrick, assistant assessor of real estate for the Guilford County Tax Department. The final deadline for appeals is today.

The bulk of appeals “is more commercial, investor properties,” Myrick said. “People are appealing investment or income properties, which could be industrial or retail, or they are appealing all of their rental houses.”

The highest valued property evaluation under appeal is Four Seasons Mall, owned by General Growth Properties, Inc. (NYSE: GGP). The $111 million valuation placed on the mall in 2012 is down 9 percent from the $120.4 million tax value for 2004. GGP’s 2012 appeal does not indicate what it contends is the current value of the mall.

“They’ve asked for it to be lower than [$111 million],” Myrick said. “They [GGP] have an opinion and we do too.”

The decline in the Four Seasons valuation exemplifies how tax valuations highlight the changing fortunes of different areas of the county.

“Right there at the intersection of High Point Road with Interstate 40, we noticed in the market reports that vacancy rates have gone up and the amount of income per square foot had declined a little bit,” Myrick said. “There are commercial market reports that give us an idea what the actual contract rent would be for retail property in different parts of the city and county, and that’s what we would use for calculation in value.”

On average, the High Point Road/I-40 corridor has seen an average decline in value of 8.8 percent.

In contrast, retail areas near New Garden Road and Jefferson Village show an average increase of 17.7 percent; the value of the Friendly Center properties rose 11.3 percent on average; and the value of downtown Greensboro properties rose an average of 20 percent, according to Myrick.

Overall, Guilford County “ended up with just a slight increase: we were right at 1 percent,” Myrick said. “Each year between 2004 and 2012, our appraisers are going out to look at new buildings and renovations, and are constantly changing valuations. There were 20,000 new buildings added in Guilford County” since 2004.

While it is not unusual for the value of an entire apartment complex to be appealed, only one large complex has done so: Crown Lake on West Wendover Avenue. “Apartments generally have done well,” Myrick said.

What is unusual is the appeal request for Brandonshire Condominiums, at 1500 Brandonshire Court near West Wendover Avenue. The developer is appealing the valuation for all but one of the condos. “It is unusual to see an entire complex or at least a large section of condos appealed,” Myrick said.

Office buildings whose valuations exceed $20 million and are being appealed include Showplace at 211 East Commerce Ave. in High Point; CitiCards at 5450 Millstream Road in McLeansville; Volvo Trucks North America at 7900 National Service Road in Greensboro; and UnitedHealthcare at 3803 N. Elm St. in Greensboro.