Residential property values in Habersham County may not rise as much as initially projected, according to county officials.
During a regular meeting on Tuesday, May 13, the Habersham County Board of Tax Assessors received an update from McCormick & Associates, the firm conducting a countywide property reassessment.
Back in April, as reported by Now Habersham, property values were projected to increase by an average of 18%. But updated figures now suggest that residential values may only rise between 8% and 10%.
“It’s still too early to say because of land values,” said Kelly McCormick of McCormick & Associates, who is overseeing the reassessment process. “But, the more we’re entering (data) in, the less of an increase it looks like.”
Commercial property values, on the other hand, are expected to align with the earlier projections and could increase by 18% to 20%, McCormick added.
He emphasized that any potential increase reflects a broad adjustment known as an “overall digest change,” and won’t necessarily affect all properties equally. Values may still rise or fall on a case-by-case basis.
Homestead exemptions buffer homeowners
McCormick sought to reassure residents that those with homestead exemptions will be largely shielded from the impact of rising assessments, as their taxable property values are frozen under exemption rules.
“That homestead, going forward, is what’s going to keep (residents’) taxable value very similar from year to year,” he said. “The net increase (in revenue) for the county, whenever we get the final digest numbers, will be less because of (homestead exemptions).”
According to McCormick, 9,785 residential properties out of more than 22,000 total taxable parcels – including commercial, residential and industrial – in the county currently receive the exemption. Under the law, only residential property owners can qualify for a homestead exemption.
“About 80-85% of residential property owners have the homeowner freeze exemption, if I remember correctly from last year’s tax digest,” Habersham County Manager Tim Sims said in April via email. “Many more have signed up for that exemption this past year (after House Bill 581).”
The overall reassessment process is expected to wrap up by early July, with digest figures anticipated in late June and notices to be mailed soon after.
Background and reassessment efforts
The reassessment project follows a state review of Habersham County’s tax procedures, which identified miscommunications, calculation errors, and concerns that commercial properties were undervalued.
In response, the county contracted McCormick & Associates in 2023 for a $1.1 million, three-year project to reappraise residential, commercial, and industrial properties.
Preliminary figures released last summer indicated a 12% increase in property value growth across all categories. Revenue from industrial property was projected at $1.4 million, and commercial property at $3.7 million—up from $1.4 million and $3.3 million, respectively, the previous year.
Millage rate discussions amid reappraisal
Higher property values could translate to increased tax bills, prompting Habersham County commissioners to lower the millage rate, which currently stands at 12.682. With values likely rising, county commissioners have indicated support for reducing the rate to mitigate the impact on homeowners.
“I don’t like taxes to go up on people – not in the situations we are in right now,” Habersham County Commission Chairman Jimmy Tench said in April. “We’re not in a good position right now to (raise taxes).”
Habersham County Commission Vice Chairman Bruce Harkness also said he’ll continue to push for a rollback.
“We will have to lower the millage rate because these increases in assessments is kind of a roundabout way that people’s taxes go up without commissioner involvement,” said Harkness, who indicated commercial property owners should “pay their fair share to relieve homeowners. “…I will definitely be fighting for a rollback in the millage rate to help ease this pain of the increase in the value of people’s property.”
Board of Tax Assessors Chairman Bill Terry has expressed optimism about the progress made during the reassessment.
“I think McCormick is doing a fantastic job,” Terry said. “They’re pulling all the resources together to get it caught up…there have been some delays – some of which were unexpected – but we’re on track.”
