Just as Buncombe County residents are receiving this year’s property tax bills, county leaders are laying the legal groundwork to assess properties with new, likely higher values in 2026.
The Board of Commissioners held a public hearing on Buncombe County’s “schedule of values” Tuesday evening. The 263-page document details exactly how county appraisers calculate the worth of land and buildings. Those numbers are supposed to represent true market value, and when multiplied by the tax rate set by the commissioners each year, they determine the property tax homeowners and businesses pay.
Buncombe last conducted a reassessment in 2021. Since then, county staff estimate, the assessed tax value of an average property has fallen to about 60% of its true market value, largely due to the region’s pre-Helene real estate boom.
State law requires counties to reassess within three years of that ratio falling to 85%, which occurred in 2023. The county had planned to reappraise values in 2025, but delayed the process to focus on Hurricane Helene recovery.
Eric Cregger, Buncombe County’s tax assessor, said the proposed new schedule includes a number of tweaks designed to provide more accurate values for both luxury and lower-end housing. The county has faced criticism that its rules undervalue expensive properties while overvaluing modest ones, potentially placing a disproportionate tax burden on poorer residents.
Cregger had been serving as the county’s interim assessor since last September, when former assessor Keith Miller was fired over an alleged conflict of interest. Commissioners unanimously appointed Cregger to the role on a permanent basis on Tuesday.
On the high end, Cregger explained, Buncombe has added a new category of “unique” construction to better reflect the county’s most opulent residences.
“We’re talking homes that have tile work imported from Italy, those kinds of items — things like a whiskey room,” he said.
On the lower end, assessors are refining formulas for manufactured homes so that extra size matters less than it does for stick-built structures.
During the public hearing, five residents urged commissioners to ensure transparency and equity in the revaluation process. The speakers included Shanna Peele, president of the Buncombe County Association of Educators, and Carson Bridges, president of the Asheville City Association of Educators. Peele and Bridges framed the issue as critical to the funding of schools and other community needs.
“Our county has the opportunity right now, in this reappraisal process, to set the foundation for long-term stability through creating a fair and transparent process,” Peele said. “Property taxes aren’t just numbers on a page to our community: They are the backbone of our schools, the shelves of our libraries, and the sidewalks and services that make Buncombe a place people want to call home.”
The board plans to vote on the proposed schedule of values Sept. 16. If approved that evening, residents will then have until Friday, Oct. 17, to file an appeal on any aspect of the schedule with the N.C. Department of Revenue’s Property Tax Commission. Property owners can appeal their actual assessed values with the Buncombe County Board of Equalization & Review starting in January.
Other tidbits
- Commissioners accepted a $5.4 million, interest-free loan from North Carolina’s state government, meant to help the county with spending on its Hurricane Helene response. The loan brings Buncombe’s total borrowing from the state to $19.44 million, all of which officials expect will eventually be repaid through federal reimbursement or insurance claims.
- Buncombe County received four achievement awards from the National Association of Counties, a government advocacy group. The county’s Helene Family Assistance Center, Camp Recreation and Investigation Outdoors, Buncombe Connections, and Reading MENtors programs were all recognized as innovative approaches to serving residents.
- At their briefing prior to the main meeting, commissioners heard an update about the work of the Community Reparations Commission. The group, established in the wake of 2020’s racial justice protests, is slated to present its final recommendations to Asheville City Council on Sept. 9.
Every first and third Tuesday, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meets at 200 College St., Room 326, in downtown Asheville, beginning at 5 p.m. The next meeting will take place Tuesday, Sept. 16. See the full recording and agenda of the Sept. 2 meeting.
