Assessor: Use income, cost or market approaches — you can protest assessed value

A property owner asked, “My property value looks wrong. How did the assessor come up with this?” and an assessor responded by outlining how the office determines values and how owners can appeal.

The assessor said, “Assessors use three ways to come up with your value. Income approach, cost approach, and market approach.” The office explained those are the primary methods it relies on to estimate property values.

When the owner asked what to do if they still disagreed, the assessor replied, “Then you can protest and your assessor will help you with that.” The assessor added that "at the end of the day, the most important thing is that we make sure your property values are fair and equitable." The exchange closed with a resource: “Learn more at nmc assessors.org.”

Why it matters: assessed values determine how property taxes are calculated; errors or disagreements can affect tax bills. The short exchange makes clear that a formal protest process exists but does not record specific deadlines, forms, or the steps required to complete an appeal.

What the transcript does and does not say: the assessor lists the three valuation approaches but does not define them in this exchange or specify how to determine which approach was applied in an individual case. The assessor says staff will assist with protests; the transcript does not specify timelines, appeals boards, required documentation, or contact details beyond the provided website. Those details were not specified.

Next steps: property owners seeking to challenge an assessment should contact their assessor’s office via the resource provided in the exchange for information about the formal protest process and applicable deadlines.