Property values in Tarrant County rise 8.7 percent in '08, early figures show

Property values in Tarrant County rose 8.7 percent in 2008, according to the preliminary values released Thursday by the Tarrant Appraisal District.

The county's overall market value rose to $136.1 billion. Net taxable value rose 9.4 percent to $125.8 billion.

John Marshall, executive director of the TAD, noted that the values are very preliminary for a number of reasons. The first deadline for protesting property values is June 2, and values for mineral rights are not in the preliminary numbers.

"The delay in mineral notices is due to the volume of leases, the delay in getting the information from the Railroad Commission and from Pritchard and Abbott, our valuation consulting engineers," Marshall said in an e-mail. "Mineral values are carried under the Business Personal Property section, hence, some entities may show a decrease in this section until mineral accounts are added to the 2008 values."

Virtually every taxing jurisdiction in the county showed gains in net taxable value.

The city of Fort Worth's net taxable value rose 10.1 percent, to $41.8 billion, although that number is skewed because of a new state law regarding appraisals.

Before the new law took effect, appraisal districts provided values for entities that extended into neighboring counties. Now each county appraisal district's work stops at the county line. So TAD's 2008 value for Fort Worth does not include the portion of the city in Denton County, but its 2007 value does. The Denton appraisal district will estimate the value of the Denton County portion of Fort Worth.

Marshall said he expects TAD to release a new, more complete estimate around June 9.