A state-mandated,
countywide reassessment of all real properties located in Horry County is
occurring for tax year 2019. Properties will fluctuate in value with general
market conditions such as supply and demand, home sales prices, and the state
of the economy. A reassessment ensures that property taxes are determined on an
updated fair market value of properties. The Horry County Assessor’s Office is
appraising all property values at fair market value as of December 31, 2018.
This new value will be used for calculating property tax bills issued by the
Horry County Treasurer’s Office during October 2019. Properties that have an
increase in value of $1,000 or more will receive an assessment notice in July
2019.
The South Carolina
Code of Laws requires that once every five years all real property in every
county within the State will be reappraised and adjusted to current fair market
value as of December 31 of the year prior to implementing the reassessment.
Only real property is appraised during a reassessment. Values of personal
property, such as cars and boats, are adjusted on an annual basis and kept
current through the Horry County Auditor’s Office at the direction of the South
Carolina Department of Revenue. The purpose of a reassessment is to equalize
the valuations of all real property in a county. The five-year reassessment
cycle in South Carolina is an appraisal freeze, only broken on property sale or
change to a property.
The fair market value
of real property is constantly changing due to factors such as location, market
demand, the age and physical condition of a neighborhood, and the state of the
economy. As a result, non-uniformity in values occurs within tax jurisdictions
whether or not property values increase or decrease. For example, some
comparable houses are now selling for a lower amount than at the time of Horry
County’s last reassessment in 2015 when the market value was determined as of
the end of December 2014. The reassessment process ensures that all houses
which have similar characteristics are valued consistently; the property values
are equalized allowing property tax to be redistributed on a more equitable
basis.
Property owners will
pay no more or less than their fair share of the property tax burden. Forecasts
indicate that some residents may share a greater burden of the property tax due
to a this equalization process as some properties have increased in value, some
properties have declined in value, and some have stayed about the same. If your
property has increased in taxable value, you will likely receive a higher tax
bill. If your property stayed at about the same taxable value, you may receive
a higher tax bill because there are some properties that decreased in taxable
value, causing the redistribution of the tax burden.
Values are calculated using a Mass Appraisal System
The Horry County
Assessor's Office maintains a database of the physical characteristics for
approximately 250,000 properties within Horry County. The data includes
information such as heated square footage, garages, decks, pools, type and
quality of construction, land area, water features, and several other
attributes required for the mass appraisal process. Properties are then grouped
into one of approximately 2,622 appraisal models based on similar market
characteristics.
Licensed staff
appraisers determine land values for each of the appraisal models based on
analysis of vacant and improved property sales. Structural improvements to the
land are valued using a market sales modified Marshall & Swift cost
service. The valuations produced for each appraisal model are tested for
accuracy using actual market sales. After testing, the result of the mass
appraisal model for Horry County is then measured against statistical standards
of the International Association of Assessing Officers.
If a model fails the
required standards, further review and refinements are necessary before
acceptance. Commercial properties may be evaluated on rental income streams,
operating expenses, and what kind of investment return can be reasonably
expected. Subsequent to the valuation processes and testing, the reappraisal
results must be submitted to the South Carolina Department of Revenue for
further statistical testing and State approval. The Horry County Assessor is
then notified of the approval and program implementation to the taxpayer.