Remember the Homestead Exemption we mentioned in our April newsletter? Your efforts to file and save yourself money have paid off! Leander City Council approved a homestead exemption on June 3rd.
The Homestead Exemption
Earlier this month, Leander City Council approved a residential homestead exemption of $5,000 or 1% of the home’s appraised value, whichever is greater, as property values increase. This means that amount is taken off a home’s appraised value. The home’s appraised value minus the homestead exemption is what property taxes will be based off. This exemption will save Leander homeowners about $30 in property taxes. The exemption would impact city tax revenue by almost $400,000.
Williamson County commissioners also voted earlier this spring to extend the property tax exemption for individuals age 65 and older and disabled homeowners. The state minimum is $5,000 or 1% of the home’s value. The extension extended the homestead exemption in Williamson County to 1% or $5,000, whichever is greater. Leander has a different exemption for homeowners 65 and over or disabled. Their exemption is $10,000 and a property tax freeze.
How The Real Estate Market Impacts Homestead Exemptions.
Due to low inventory and high demand, the market value of homes, or what a buyer is willing to pay for a home at the current market price, has drastically increased.
According to data from the Williamson Central Appraisal District, 2021 is the highest tax year yet, with a residential value of $63.83 billion of standard code homes in Williamson county. 2020 had a price of $51.01 billion. Data from the Williamson Central Appraisal District reports that the median home value in 2021 is $323,450. 2020’s median home value was $273,988. This year also brought in the most significant year-over-year increase in the total market value of real residents parcels, with $69.5 billion reported. It’s a $14.6 billion year-over-year increase in taxable value for Williamson County.
According to city documents, Leander has 13,842 residential homes adding up to over $5 billion in value. The average value is $373,213. In May 2021, the Williamson Central Appraisal District had valued over 253,000 properties with a total market value of $108 billion as of January 1st, 2021. It’s over a $20 billion increase from 2020’s $89.89 billion.
Call us to learn about your home’s market value and how much you could get for selling! (512) 699-9714 or Tina@MallachandCompany.com.
