Louisville homeowners are about to get higher assessments. Just how much are they going up?

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- More than 80,000 homeowners in Louisville neighborhoods stretching from Butchertown to Fisherville are looking at substantial increases in the tax value of their properties this year — and thus, higher property taxes for years to come.

Homeowners won't get a look at those updated tax assessments until April 26. That's when Jefferson County Property Valuation Administrator Colleen Younger's office releases the annual figures and begins accepting appeals from homeowners.

But the parts of Louisville that the PVA office is revaluing in 2024 have seen about a 20% increase in the price of the typical home since 2021, the last time tax values were systematically adjusted in those areas, according to WDRB News' analysis of statistics provided by the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors.

Younger, whose office is responsible for setting the "fair cash value" of real estate for property taxes, wouldn't reveal a median or typical increase homeowners in the reassessment areas are facing this year.

She also declined to say whether the increases reflected in the Realtors data are an accurate proxy for changes in assessments.

"I am reluctant to comment on that in such a broad sense because in valuation, properties can vary greatly based on characteristics, location, hot markets, etc.," she told WDRB News in an email. "It's almost impossible to extrapolate from such a broad statistic how an individual property's value will change."

Colleen Younger PVA 4-9-24 — Jefferson County PVA Colleen Younger at a public meeting in Louisville, April 9, 2024
WDRB

However, Younger has suggested that homeowners may experience sticker shock when the new values are released, a consequence of the competitive homes market.

Mortgage rates have doubled in the last couple of years, but the supply of homes for sale in Louisville has barely budged, meaning prices haven't come down.

As of March, the Louisville market had about two months' supply of available homes, about one-third the level that agents consider a healthy market, according to Realtors' statistics.

Younger said many homes are still commanding multiple offers and substantial premiums to their listed prices.

"We're still in a market where bidding like that is going on ... which obviously drives those median values up," Younger told an audience at a public meeting on April 9.

Meanwhile, the areas being revalued this year comprise "one of the hottest markets in town," she said.

Appeals encouraged

The values set by the PVA form the basis of property tax bills that homeowners receive annually. Taxing districts like Jefferson County Public Schools, Louisville Metro government and suburban fire departments set their rates as a percentage of the PVA assessments.

A particular home's assessment usually changes only every four years, as the PVA revalues different portions of Jefferson County on a rotating basis. However, a sale of the home or building permit for a major improvement, such as an addition, can also result in a new assessment.

The PVA uses a "mass appraisal" computer system that draws on nearby arms-length sales to extrapolate a property's value.

Homeowners who disagree with the result are encouraged to file an appeal and to share non-public information indicating why their property may be unfairly valued.

"I don't know that you have not remodeled your bathrooms or that your kitchen has its original cabinetry," Younger told the audience on April 9. "… So we want to partner with you to help us get it right."

Younger said appeals have a high likelihood of success if the homeowner shares documentation such as photos or repair estimates.

Public meetings

Before assessment cards are mailed to homeowners on April 26, the PVA office is holding two more public meetings to explain the appeal process.

Those meetings are: