Fort Bend Central Appraisal District has released proposed noticed values for property tax assessments in 2025. It appears to have overvalued 36% of homes in Fort Bend County during the 2025 property tax reassessment. The value of a typical home rose by 3.3%, while commercial properties saw a more substantial increase of approximately 16.4%. These adjustments account for both existing properties and new construction.
Fort Bend Central Appraisal District Facts
Each county in Texas has its own appraisal district, with the exception of Potter and Randall Counties, which share a single district. In 2022, the Fort Bend CAD had an annual budget of $18.2 million and employed a team of 63 appraisers responsible for valuing more than 343,000 property tax parcels.
Fort Bend County Home Tax Assessments Increase by 3.3%
An analysis of property tax assessments by value range in Fort Bend County shows a clear trend: as home values increase, so do assessment hikes. Lower-value homes saw smaller or even negative changes, while higher-value properties experienced the most significant increases.
Specifically, homes valued at $250,000 or less saw a 4.5% decrease in assessed value. In contrast, properties valued between $250,000 and $1 million experienced increases ranging from 2.5% to 4.8%. Homes worth between $1 million and $1.5 million saw a 6.9% increase, while properties exceeding $1 million overall faced an average increase of 13.5%.
In Fort Bend County, property values per square foot rose in line with home size, with larger homes seeing more significant increases. There was a clear trend showing higher-value homes experiencing greater increases. For instance, homes ranging from 2,000 to 3,999 square feet saw a 3.2% increase, while those over 8,000 square feet experienced a substantial 21.9% rise.
Fort Bend Central Appraisal District Tax Assessments Based on Year Built
According to Fort Bend CAD, homes built between 1960 and 2000 saw decreases in their property assessments. For instance, properties constructed between 1961 and 1980 experienced a 6% decline. In contrast, homes built in 2021 or later saw a significant increase in assessed value, rising by 28.8%.
In 2025, Fort Bend CAD overvalued 36% of homes in the county, a decrease from 61% in 2024. This analysis compares the 2025 property tax reassessment values to the actual sales prices of homes sold in 2024. Conversely, 64% of those homes were assessed at values lower than their market value.
Fort Bend Commercial Owners Face High Tax Assessments
Fort Bend County commercial property owners face large increases in commercial property values set for the tax year 2025. Commercial property values in Fort Bend County increased overall by 16.4% in 2025. The total assessed value of commercial property in Fort Bend County increased from $19.3 billion in 2024 to $22.4 billion in 2025. Apartments valued by year built and sub-type, had an increase of 19.3% in 2025. Office buildings averaged 23.7%, warehouses averaged 11.1%, and retail averaged 25.6% increase. Warehouses received the lowest amount of increase, while retail received the highest amount of increase. Given the large number of increases it is expected that virtually every Fort Bend County commercial property owner will be protesting their property taxes in 2025. Commercial properties valued under $5 million in 2025 will be subject to a 20% cap. This cap was established by the Texas Legislature in 2023 and applies to tax years 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Property Tax Protests for Commercial Property in Fort Bend in 2025
For the 2025 tax year, Fort Bend CAD increased the market value of all types of commercial properties, with the most significant hikes seen in hotel (48%) and retail (25.6%). Apartments and offices increased by 19.3 and 23.7%, respectively. Land had the lowest increase of 7.2%.
Commercial property assessments for 2025 by the Fort Bend CAD rose regardless of the year built. Commercial property built between 1961 and 1980 in Fort Bend incurred a 36% increase, slightly lower than the 72.5% increase in 2024. However, properties built in 2001 and later saw the biggest increase in their 2025 property tax reassessment with 43.4%, higher than 2024’s 29.4% increase. Property built between 1981 to 2000 had a value increase of 23.1%.
The analysis of commercial property tax assessments by value range in Fort Bend County reveals a positive correlation, meaning lower-value commercial property experience smaller increases, while higher-value see larger increases. The graph shows that assessment increases tend to rise along with property values. For commercial property valued between $500k to $1 million there was a 4.5% increase in assessed value. Commercial property priced between $1 million to $5 million increased by 12.5% and property valued over $5 million resulted in 21.5%.
Disparity Between FBCAD Property Valuations and Financial Market Trends
The 2025 commercial property tax reassessment established by Fort Bend CAD is different and inconsistent with the analysis done by Wall Street firm Green Street Real Estate Advisors. Green Street advisors advise that values are down 21% from the peak in 2022. Conversely, Fort Bend CAD advises that commercial property values are up over 16.4% in just the last year.
Increase in Assessments for Fort Bend Central Appraisal District Apartment Buildings 2025
According to the graph, there appears to be a mixed correlation between the year an apartment was built and the level of property tax assessment increase in Fort Bend County for 2025. Apartments built between 1961 to 1980 had the highest increase of 39.8%. Properties built between 1981 to 2000 increased by 25.2% and properties built between 2001 to 2020 by 16.6%. Properties built in 2021 and above increased by 33.2% in 2025, hardly any difference from the 33.3% increase in 2024.
Apartment owners in Fort Bend County saw a significant property tax increase in 2025. The Fort Bend CAD raised the taxable value of apartment buildings by 19.3% overall. Apartment buildings for multi-family 9+ units increased by 36.7%, in comparison to apartment garden only increasing by 19.2%.
Increase in Assessments for Fort Bend County Office Buildings 2025
Across the board, per Fort Bend CAD, there are increases in 2025 property tax assessments for office buildings by the year built. The lowest increase is 10.7% for office buildings built between 1961 to 1980. For office buildings built in 2021 and above, there was the highest increase of 49.8%. There is a medium percentage increase of 20.6% belonging to offices built between 1981 to 2000.
Property tax assessments rose for medical and low rise office buildings in Fort Bend County in 2025. Medical buildings had the highest level of increase of 26.1%, followed by low-rise office buildings of 23.3% increase. High rise office buildings had the lowest level of increase of 2.9%.
FBCAD Retail Tax Assessments Up Almost 26%
Property tax assessments for retail buildings in Fort Bend County all increased regardless of the year built, but there was no direct correlation. Retail buildings built between 1961 and 1980 had the largest increase of 65.3%. Retail buildings built in 2001 and later had the second highest increase of 53.5% increase. In comparison, retail buildings built between 2001 to 2020 had a small increase of 17.4%.
Property tax assessments rose for all categories of retail properties in Fort Bend County in 2025. The smallest increase was for malls by 15.4%. The largest increase was for neighborhood shopping centers which increased by 28.1% increase. Community shopping centers increased by 26.2% and single tenant by 17.6%.
FFBCAD Warehouse Tax Assessments Increased by 11%
Fort Bend County warehouse building owners experienced increases, especially those whose property was built in 2021 and above. For warehouse property built in 2021 and above there was a massive increase of 27.7%. Meanwhile, warehouse buildings built before 1960 had a 0% increase. Warehouse buildings built between 1981 to 2000 saw a 7.5% increase and buildings built between 2001 to 2020 account for an 8.4% increase.
Fort Bend CAD calculates market values for four types of warehouse properties: mini-warehouse low rise, mini warehouse high rise, mega-warehouses, and regular warehouses. Mega warehouses increased by 6.2% and regular warehouses by 6.8% increase. The highest levels of increase were for mini warehouse high rise of 27.8% and mini warehouse low rise 21.1%.
The Houston metro home prices in the past year have increased by 1.2%, meanwhile the Fort Bend CAD increased by 3.3%.
Summary for FBCAD 2025 Property Tax Revaluation
Fort Bend County property owners face substantial increases for both residential and commercial properties. Increases for homes averaged 3.3% for value ranges, square footage, and by year built. For commercial property in Fort Bend County, assessment increases averaged 16.4% for value range, type, and year built.
Appeal Your Fort Bend Central Appraisal District Property Values Each and Every Year
Property owners in Texas, especially those in Fort Bend County, have the right to appeal the assessed value of their property. Whether for commercial or residential properties, the appeals process allows owners to present evidence demonstrating that their valuation is too high. Most property tax protests result in reductions, making it a smart move to file an appeal or work with a property tax consulting firm. With over 50 years of experience, O’Connor specializes in protesting property valuations and is dedicated to helping owners lower their tax burdens through effective, affordable solutions.