Beaufort County property values are up — but taxes may be, too. What you need to know

Nearly 10 years after the housing market crash and Great Recession, property values are on the rise in Beaufort County, which is great news for residents who have been waiting or are looking to list their homes for sale.

However, increased market values will mean higher property taxes for most communities throughout the county.

Beaufort County homes have increased in assessed value by 6.84 percent and almost all areas of Beaufort County saw property value increases from 2013 to 2018.

Bluffton's assessed values have increased tremendously since the last assessment in 2013.

In the past five years, homes within the town of Bluffton have, on average, seen a 22-percent gain in assessed value. Homes in greater Bluffton have increased by more than 14 percent.

Beaufort County Assessor Gary James presented his office's report at last week's Bluffton Town Council meeting.

Those who saw certain increases in market value will be paying higher taxes, he said, while those with lesser increases or decreases will pay less in property taxes than they have been over the past five years.

"It's about 50-50 for those that went up versus those that went down," James said. "If your property went up (approximately) 7 percent (in value), then your taxes will go up. If it went up less than 7 percent — let's say it went up 6 percent — then your taxes will go down."

Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka said she's happy to see that Bluffton has continued to thrive over the past few years, commenting that the growth will contribute to the town's overall well-being.

"It does help us plan for additional projects that we can do and just more services we can provide for our town residents," she said, referring to the future increase in tax revenue.

Most homeowners on Hilton Head Island — which had an average property value growth of 4.23 percent — won't see an increase in property taxes.

Hilton Head's first public service district (PSD) — Beaufort County District 510 — saw an average growth of 6.35 percent, while Broad Creek's PSD grew by an average of 4.72 percent.

Daufuskie Island and Fripp Island properties collectively took a major hit, however. James said these two islands saw assessed value decrease due to damage from Hurricane Matthew.

"In Fripp (Island), we had 14 homes that are now ocean homes, not oceanfront," he said. "Their value went to zero. They have to be reconstructed."

Property assessments will be sent out to homeowners at the end of the summer.

Once the assessor sends them out, homeowners will have 90 days to appeal the reassessed market values. They can appeal anything on a house's value except the cap rate, which the state dictates for all property.

Homeowners who want to file appeals must do so through the Beaufort County assessor. Any appeals must be signed and submitted in writing and can contest market value, assessment ratio, property classification and equity in valuation.

This story was originally published June 20, 2018 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Beaufort County property values are up — but taxes may be, too. What you need to know."