Tax office explains Schedule of Values and why market calm may limit 2027 increases

Chelsea Tarbesch described the Schedule of Values as the technical framework the tax office uses to mass-appraise properties: market-derived tables and income capitalization rates that are applied across parcels.

"You should be able to take that and apply that to any property," Tarbesch said, explaining staff use sales comparison, income and cost approaches to produce uniform valuations.

Tarbesch and Pesauer said they monitor sales data and send quarterly ratio studies to the North Carolina Department of Revenue to ensure the county’s assessed values remain within state standards. Tarbesch said the county was "currently sitting at about 85, 86% of market from the '23 reappraisal in 2026," a level the county watches for DOR thresholds that can trigger mandatory advancement or corrective action.

The office uses MLS for residential sales and CoStar for commercial transactions to build its data sets, excluding non-arm's-length or otherwise invalid sales (such as transfers between family members or sales involving included personal property).