Tax assessment values don’t match market value

By Michelle Carolla
WBTW Reporter/Anchor
Published: July 21, 2008

As home values plummet, many homeowners across the U.S. are worried about paying property taxes on their homes.
Homeowners in Horry County are also paying taxes on old values. However, the news isn’t as bad as in some other areas of the country. It’s no secret to homeowners that most homes are not worth what they were two years ago. Property tax bills still reflect the original assessed value.  In Horry County, assessments are performed every five years. They come up again in 09.
The last values were assessed December 31, 2003. 
    The county told News 13 that they inspect the deeds from new sales and they haven’t seen any values drop below the 03 assessed value.
“We’ll see developments in the county, although they’re not selling as quickly or as many, when they do sell, they tend to be holding that same value,” said Rendell Mencie, Horry County Tax Assessor.  “At the same time, you may find other developments in the county where the value has actually decreased from where the development originally started.“
A new tax law passed last year states any property sold in 2007 must be reappraised to the current market value on December 31 2007. That same law applies to homes sold in 2008. They will reappraise to the value of the end of 2008.
  The county started working on the new assessments nearly three years ago but they will re-visit properties assessed before the market drop.