Alvin Lankford, chief appraiser for the WCAD, shared additional valuation updates with Georgetown City Council members during a May 27 workshop.
By the numbers
Initial data from the WCAD suggests Georgetown’s total market value, which includes residential, commercial, multifamily and land properties, has increased by about $2.36 billion since 2024.
Since the estimate is before the WCAD has received protests, the 2025 numbers will likely drop slightly, Lankford said.
WCAD software allows users to compare different data for cities across Williamson County, including nearby Round Rock, Liberty Hill, Leander and others. According to the WCAD, Georgetown’s total market value in 2025 is just behind Round Rock’s.
In 2022, Williamson County saw record increases in property values given the low inventory of homes and high demand for them at the time. In Georgetown, residential values alone jumped from $8.3 billion in 2021 to $12.54 billion in 2022, according to WCAD data.
“In most areas, 2022 is still higher than 2025,” Lankford said. “You guys at the city of Georgetown have exceeded that.”
The city’s total residential value is now up to $13.99 billion.
“Your value as a whole is more than what it was in 2022, but that's because of new growth,” Lankford said. “You have a lot of new improvements, new residential homes that are adding into that value.”
However, the median value of residential homes in Georgetown and Williamson County have not exceeded numbers seen in 2022, Lankford said.
How it works
Every January, taxable property in Texas must be valued at 100% of market value to comply with the Texas Property Tax Code. In April or May, a notice of appraised value is mailed to inform property owners what their proposed values are for the current tax year, according to WCAD’s website.
Property owners may file a protest if they disagree with the proposed value by providing evidence, like comparable home sales, to support their opinion.
To help property owners understand the notice better, WCAD officials define the following terms on their website as follows:
- Notice of appraised value: A letter mailed annually in the spring to property owners from appraisal districts to give owners notice about their proposed values for the current tax year. Owners who disagree with proposed values may file a protest.
- Market value: The price a property would be reasonably transferred for under existing market conditions. Properties are valued at market value Jan. 1 the year an owner receives a notice of appraised value.
- Assessed value: The reduced value of your property after any qualifying limitation, such as a homestead exemption cap, has been applied.
- Homestead exemption: A residence homestead is capped from future assessed value increases of more than 10% per year from the date of the last assessed value. A cap amount is calculated by subtracting a property’s assessed value from total market value.
In the 2025 appraisal notice, Lankford said he encourages property owners to review their market value, or the value you can protest, and the assessed value, or the capped value of a homestead.
Lankford said there’s a misconception the WCAD raises taxes for their own purposes or for local taxing entities like Georgetown.
The Texas comptroller’s office does a biennial property value study to ensure the WCAD is between 95%-105% of market value, and there are consequences for appraisal districts that fall outside that range, he said.
“We can actually fail the property value study and risk losing state funding for our local schools,” Lankford said. “It's imperative that we value property appropriately every year.”
